On Friday, 13 January 2017, it will be 26 years ago that the Orkney disaster happened when 42 supporters lost their lives.

On that day, Kaizer Chiefs faced Orlando Pirates in a pre-season friendly at the Oppenheimer (Orkney) Stadium.

The fans died in the overcrowded stadium during a stampede, which occurred after Fani Madida equalised for Amakhosi.

“The fallen will always be in our memory,” comments Chairman Kaizer Motaung about Orkney, which was South Africa’s worst sporting incident before the tragic Ellis Park disaster in 2001 where 43 people lost their lives.

Chiefs and Pirates played a legends game in honour of the fallen two years ago, on Sunday, 30 August 2015. Players of both sides laid flowers at the monument just outside the stadium, which was erected in remembrance of the supporters that passed away in the incident.

Ace Khuse played in that pre-season friendly in 1991. He was also present at the legends game.

Khuse recalls an uproar by the crowd, upset that the game was stopped.

“We heard in the dressing room that the game was not going to continue,” the Amakhosi legend reflects, “but we only realised the full extent of the tragedy when we were in the bus leaving the stadium. Many players cried when they heard the news.”

“We have a tradition at Kaizer Chiefs of recalling the high and low points in our history as a Club,” says Chairman Motaung.

“The Orkney disaster is certainly a dark moment. Every year we stand still to commemorate what happened that day. This is also why we played the legends game in August 2015 - to honour those that lost their lives.”

“On behalf of Kaizer Chiefs, I would like to extend words of sympathy to the family and friends of the departed ones,” concludes Motaung.