Behind the Curtain: CAF and Morocco’s Clever Plan to Pack AFCON Stadiums
25 December 2025
Free Entry Window Aims to Fill the Stands
Morocco s organizers, in agreement with CAF, will allow spectators to enter for free roughly 20 minutes after kickoff, in an effort to fill the arenas in select matches, according to AFP citing a CAF source.
Early Rain, Then a Surge in Attendance
On Wednesday evening, during the second match at the Grand Stade in Agadir (capacity 45000) between Cameroon and Gabon, the stands were almost empty as players warmed up before the whistle.
Despite heavy rain that drenched the coastal city, attendance rose notably in the first half, reaching 35200 spectators.
The same happened during Egypt s 2-1 win over Zimbabwe on Monday at the same stadium, where national anthems were played before around 1000 fans, and at the end the official attendance read 28199, triggering some fan driven protests that challenged organizers.
Other matches like DR Congo vs Benin or Tunisia vs Uganda were also documented by the public on social networks under the banner AFCON for the people, applying the same measure.
Only Morocco s matches that sold tickets are not covered by this policy.
As the policy spread, not everyone found the golden opportunity, for example Abdullah Bollman, a 37 year old Moroccan Arabic teacher who tried to attend Algeria-Sudan 3-0 in Rabat after hearing he could enter without a ticket.
However, the match was announced as a closed-doors affair.
He told AFP, I waited, but there were a huge number of people... and the rain kept falling, so I left.
Ticket sales and packed stands remain a major challenge for Morocco s AFCON organizers.
Morocco has set two goals: win a long-missed title not seen in 50 years, and stage a near-perfect tournament ahead of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
Punchline: Free entry after kickoff? That is not a crowd puller; it is a weather puller. And yes, the rain always brings the drama.
Punchline: If attendance stays this loose, perhaps the organizers should start selling air entries; you pay nothing, you sit anywhere, and the clouds take care of the rest.
