2023 Africa Cup of Nations Faces Ticketing Issues

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has faced ticketing issues due to half-empty stadiums.

While the Confederation of African Football (CAF) acknowledged these concerns for the first game, they haven’t fixed any issues that would have prevented supporters from going to subsequent games.

The 2023 Africa Cup Organizing Committee (COCAN) claims that emtpy seats in Ivory Coast’s match against Guinea-Bissau were due to “dead seats” with reduced visibility or safety seats. The stadium had a useful capacity of 50,786 seats, but an attendance of 36,858 people was reported.

The next day, less than 10,000 fans were present in the match between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

Many seats were also empty at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium in Abidjan for matches between Egypt and Mozambique and Ghana and Cape Verde.

Ivory Coast Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé has said he will personally take charge of the problem and expects results within 48 hours.