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HERBERT MENSAH - We will always keep the flame of May 9th 2001 burning in honour of our true heroes and custodians of our beloved game; the supporters. The Former Chairman of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club, Mr. Herbert Mensah has paid tribute to the football fans who lost their lives tragically at a football match between Accra Hearts of Oak and the Porcupine Warriors on May 9th 2001. He noted that it was important never to forget those now gone because they are the real heroes of society and of soccer the world over. The former Kotoko Chairman noted that the incident of May 9th 2001 represented the worst single day tragedy in the history of Ghana since independence and that it was imperative that "we not only recognise this as a nation but give respect to the lost ones and support their families for as long as possible." It will be recalled that 126 people died when police fired tear gas into the crowd which resulted in a stampede as supporters sought to flee the gases. Subsequent reports of the incident drew severe criticism at the security services and questioned the operational management of the match and the stadia. It was reported that at the height of the tragedy, security services had fled from the scene and that there were no support services by way of ambulances and fire service which could have helped. Since the incident occurred, Mr Mensah and a group of committed parties have kept the flame burning by visiting the families of the lost ones and supporting them on a yearly basis. Mr. Mensah noted that throughout the period he had been supported by Alhaji Hearts as well as the media and sporting personalities including Edward Boateng of Hello FM, Sometimer of Hot FM, Frederick Acheampong, Rian Malan, Prince of Kessben, Ali Maradona of Kotoko fame, Elton Brobbey of Luv FM and Kwame Gapson of KFM in Kumasi. In addition, Chapter O in Accra and others have worked with this group in various activities which has helped to make the yearly event a success. The Former Asante Kotoko Chairman noted of 2012 that it was the 11th anniversary of the tragedy and that his efforts this year were aimed at the mother child. Activities were put together with this in mind and Kumasi was chosen as the location. In order to ensure that the children did not miss school, a lot of the activities were held over the previous weekend. These included interaction with the families, Route march through the streets of Kumasi, Soccer match between Hearts Chapter O and their Kotoko equivalent, Various Media encounters, the launch of the May 9th Remembered Facebook page, among others.