The emergency medical service told the South African Press Association that 21 men, seven women and one child died in side the stadium, and that 13 men and one woman died outside. Telephone numbers for the local mortuary were displayed on the stadium's big screens and on local television. Some reports said 120,000 people were let in to the stadium, built to hold 70,000. It is madness that they were still selling tickets at the stadium on the day. By far the most popular professional teams in South African football, Pirates and Chiefs, are also local rivals in Soweto.
Soccer is by far the most popular field sport in South Africa.
Interest in cricket and rugby is largely confined to the white minority. Support has grown for the idea that soccer-mad Africa should be allowed to stage a World Cup. South Africa is the only African country with the infrastructure to do it. But critics point to the chaotic and at times corrupt management of South Africa's professional soccer league. In particular, overcrowding at major games has led to calls for better organisation and policing, and to warnings that a major disaster was inevitable.