On Monday, a stampede injured 16 people prior to a World Cup friendly game between Nigeria and North Korea. However, FIFA has cleared out that this incident is in no way related to their organization of the 2010 World Cup. They are still confident that the fixtures will remain peaceful the entire month in South Africa.

Despite their statement, media has still enjoyed publishing this story. The organizers couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the situation after they have assured the world that security in South Africa would be in order. Headlines like “Soccer Stampede Mayhem” only aggravated the situation.

A lot of those injured feared for their lives. Princess Mbali said:

When we were coming in, they were just stepping on us. I thought I was dying. I was at the bottom.

Among the 16 injured, only one was severely injured and that man was a police officer. The cause of the stampede was said to be a number of fans who tried to force their way in since they didn’t have tickets.

Lt. Col. Eugene Opperman, the official police spokesman, said that prior to the match, 8000 free tickets had been distributed and those who were not privileged enough to avail of them tried to force their way in before the kick-off.

Police officers did not know who distributed the tickets and FIFA has stated that it did not come from them.

This incident serves as a reminder of the probable setbacks the tournament might experience. Hopefully it will remain as a reminder and not turn out as a preview of things to come.