Angry Derradji: Ticket Chaos Repeats Across Algeria's AFCON Games
8 January 2026
Ticket access controversy ahead of Algeria-Nigeria AFCON clash
Algerian commentator Hafid Derradji sparked a fresh controversy by commenting on Algerians' inability to buy tickets for their national team's Africa Cup of Nations matches.
The Algeria squad is preparing to face Nigeria this Saturday in the AFCON quarterfinals held in Morocco.
Derradji, in a post on X, claimed that tickets for Algeria's match against Nigeria were unavailable on the official booking platform, the same for all four Algeria games; yet the stands were not full, a trend that could repeat unless CAF organizers enable Algerians to purchase their own seats.
The remarks followed earlier chatter about empty venues at the tournament, except for the opening Morocco match attended by around 60,000 fans and, to a lesser extent, Egypt vs Zimbabwe.
After the first round of the group stage, Derradji argued that rumors of tickets selling out persist, and that a resale site opened recently due to rising demand from Algerian fans who traveled to Rabat and found no tickets.
He continued that they would wait to see the actual attendance and verify whether all tickets were indeed sold, as CAF president Patrice Motsepe had claimed.
Punchline: If ticket lines were penalties, Algeria would have had a perfect record—still waiting for the whistle to end the drama.
Punchline 2: Maybe CAF should sell tickets in the same currency as stadium snacks—free popcorn for everyone who finally gets in.
