RABAT, Morocco (AP) — South Africa coach Hugo Broos isn’t getting that usual Africa Cup of Nations feeling in Morocco.
Broos, who led Cameroon to the title in 2017 in Gabon and took South Africa to third place at the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, said Sunday there was a lack of enthusiasm for the 35th Africa Cup.
“In the Ivory Coast and in Gabon, every second of the tournament you felt that you were in a tournament,” Broos said. “The people were – when we went with the bus to train – the people were waving and they were with flags, and here you see nothing. So, I don’t know, but yeah, there is no vibe, there is no typical AFCON vibe. I don’t feel it here.”
The Belgian coach was speaking in Marrakech ahead of South Africa’s final group game against Zimbabwe on Monday. The Bafana Bafana opened with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Angola in Marrakech and then lost 1-0 to Egypt in Agadir.
Egypt is already through to the last 16 from Group B with a maximum six points from two games. It is followed by South Africa on three while Angola and Zimbabwe each have a point.
Angola plays Egypt on Monday and the top two progress from each group, along with the best third-place finishers.
Organizers have struggled to fill stadiums and the weather hasn’t helped. There has been heavy rainfall every day of the tournament, except for Thursday when there were no games on the Christian holiday of Christmas Day. Morocco is a predominately Muslim country.
The tournament was originally scheduled for the summer, but it was pushed back to winter so it wouldn’t clash with FIFA’s new Club World Cup played in the United States.
Even Morocco games, which were all sold out, have featured empty seats with touts blamed for snapping up tickets, frustrating fans’ efforts to get access to the near 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, where the home team is playing all its group games.
Security at other stadiums has allowed fans free entrance after kickoff to increase attendance. It has led to supporters without tickets waiting outside on the assumption they will be allowed in.
“Nobody came to see the game South Africa-Angola,” Broos said after criticizing the arrangements for his team’s subsequent match against Egypt. “It was chaos before the game … they blocked everyone, even people with tickets. They couldn’t enter in the stadium because there was a crowd of people who didn’t have a ticket and who were allowed to come in.”
Broos praised the “nice stadiums” – all nine were newly constructed or renovated for the tournament – but said the atmosphere at the 2025 Africa Cup was uncharacteristically “cool.”
“If they don’t let the people free in the stadium, there is nobody,” he said. “Nobody is coming to watch the game South Africa-Zimbabwe.”
Morocco is also a co-host for the 2030 World Cup.
___
AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
