Organisers of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in
Morocco have begun allowing fans to enter stadiums free of charge after
kick-off in matches where attendance is low, a Confederation of African
Football (CAF) source has confirmed.
The move was evident during Wednesday’s Group F
clash between Cameroon and Gabon in Agadir, which kicked off in front of
sparsely populated stands amid persistent rainfall. However, the stadium
gradually filled up during the first half, with the official attendance later
announced as 35,200 in a venue with a capacity of over 45,000.
Similar patterns have been observed across several
matches in the opening days of the tournament, leading to questions and
confusion over reported attendance figures.
At Tuesday’s Group D encounter between DR Congo and
Benin at Rabat’s Al Medina Stadium, the crowd figure was initially
announced as 6,703 before being revised upward to 13,073,
reflecting the steady influx of fans during the match.
According to the CAF source, organisers—working in
agreement with the football body—have been opening sections of the stadium
around 20 minutes after kick-off, allowing supporters gathered outside
to enter without purchasing tickets.
Ensuring healthy stadium attendance is a key priority
for Morocco, as the country seeks to deliver a successful AFCON while building
momentum toward hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it will co-host
with Spain and Portugal.
Despite the free-entry measure, CAF’s official
ticketing platform still shows available seats for most remaining group-stage
matches, with ticket prices starting from 100 dirhams (about $11).
So far, only a handful of fixtures have been declared
sell-outs, including Morocco’s matches against Mali and Zambia, as well
as Algeria’s group games against Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea.
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