Twenty-nine years ago today, on October 16, 1996 (September 5, 1996 lunar calendar), the Guatemalan football stadium tragedy. The scene of the Guatemalan football stadium tragedy At 8 pm on October 16, 1996, the Flower Stadium of Mateo, Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala, will hold a qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica for the 1998 World Cup in North Central America and the Caribbean. Before the start of the game, the stadium was chaotic because the organizers of the game sold 10,000 tickets. Spectators crowded and stomped on each other, killing more than 80 people and injuring more than 300 people. After the tragedy, Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu, who was preparing to watch the game at the stadium, immediately walked to the center of the stadium to propose a one-minute silence for the audience. Then President Arzou announced three days of national mourning and the cancellation of the game.