Africa Cup of Nations organisers in Morocco have begun allowing fans into stadiums free of charge after matches have already kicked off, in an effort to boost attendance and fill empty seats, a Confederation of African Football source has told AFP.
The Group F match between Cameroon and Gabon on Wednesday kicked off in Agadir with noticeably sparse stands, but the crowd grew significantly during the first half despite heavy rainfall. Officials later announced an attendance figure of 35,200 in a stadium with a capacity of more than 45,000.
Similar patterns have been observed in the early days of the tournament, with confusion surrounding attendance numbers. At Tuesday’s Group D encounter between DR Congo and Benin in Rabat, an initial attendance figure of 6,703 was later revised to 13,073 as more supporters were admitted after the match had started.
CAF officials said that, with the governing body’s approval, organisers have been opening sections of stadiums roughly 20 minutes after kick-off, allowing fans waiting outside to enter without tickets. Filling stadiums is considered especially important for Morocco, which is hosting the tournament as part of its broader effort to demonstrate readiness ahead of co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
As of Thursday, CAF’s ticketing platform still showed seats available for most remaining group-stage matches, with ticket prices starting from 100 dirhams, about $11. Only four fixtures were reported to be sold out: Morocco’s matches against Mali on Friday and Zambia on Monday, as well as Algeria’s games against Burkina Faso on Sunday and Equatorial Guinea the following Wednesday.
