After the opening of the AFCON 2023, Ivory Coast faces a serious problem that could disappoint Patrice Motsepe, the president of the CAF. While the celebration promised to be beautiful, the stadiums struggle to fill up, and according to the information, an unhealthy traffic is hiding behind this bitter observation.
The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations started this Saturday, January 13, and will continue until February 11. After several months of waiting, attention is now turned towards Ivory Coast, where the AFCON 2023 is taking place. It must be said that Africa is in excitement for this competition after the very successful campaign organized by the officials and the Ivorians. In the streets of Abidjan, Bouaké, or Yamoussoukro, it’s a celebration. While everything seems to be going well at the moment, as highlighted by the CAF chief at the opening, a bitter observation is made: the low attendance in the stadiums.
The stadiums of the AFCON 2023 are not full
Indeed, in the opening match of the CAN 2023 this Saturday between Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau, the Ebimpé stadium in Abidjan did not reach its full capacity. While the stadium, which hosts the opening and closing of this Africa Cup, as well as the matches of the host country, can accommodate 60,000 people, only 36,658 supporters were present. According to information gathered on the spot, all tickets were sold for this match that was supposed to be played to a full house.
This Sunday, on the same grounds, the match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea had a very poor attendance. Out of the 60,000 seats, only 8,500 attended this Group A match. For the image of the competition and Ivory Coast, this is a serious blow, considering that the CAF pays attention to such situations. According to information, the Ivorians, avid football fans, are doing their best to attend the matches, but other individuals are complicating matters.
A ticket trafficking in place
Indeed, according to investigations, companies and/or individuals who expect to make a lot of money with this AFCON 2024 took early steps to buy tickets to resell them at higher prices during the matches. This is the reason why, for example, during the opening match, several seats remained unoccupied even though these seats had already been paid for. Due to a lack of customers willing to buy these tickets at their original prices, those who set up this trafficking are losing, just like the image of Ivory Coast, which is now exposed to the eyes of the world.
“We will try to understand why there were fewer people at the stadium. The match against Seychelles (during the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup) had many more spectators. Did the spectators fear the rain, the distance… People need to reassure themselves,” said Idriss Diallo, the head of the Ivorian Football Federation at the end of the opening match.
The situation is urgent with ticket problems
Yes! A solution will need to be found quickly for this phenomenon that could jeopardize the enthusiasm for the rest of the AFCON 2024. After the Ivory Coast – Guinea-Bissau match, the former French coach Claude Le Roy, who has participated in many AFCON tournaments on the continent, did not hesitate to emphasize the atmosphere at the stadium that was lacking during this opening match.
It is not too late for the shortcomings observed in the ticketing to be corrected. This Sunday, many supporters followed the match between Egypt and Mozambique on their phones around the stadium even though they had paid for electronic tickets.
“We are stuck at the entrance of the Félix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan, the stadium hosting Egypt – Mozambique, because the machines do not accept electronic tickets (on our phones)… only physical tickets. To enter the stadium, we must therefore buy a new ticket… and there are many of us in the same situation,” said an expatriate who came to follow the competition. Several reactions echoing the same sentiment are flooding social media.
Let’s hope that everything improves for Ivory Coast and that good faith prevails not to tarnish the image of a competition that has been so widely praised.
What could be the solution for the FIF to address this ticket trafficking?
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