2023 AFCON: Controversy Over Tickets, Organiser Reacts

2023 AFCON: Controversy Over Tickets, Organiser Reacts

By Sampson Adedeji

The Local Organising Committee has made a strong decision in the face of the controversy surrounding the sales of 2023 African Cup of Nations tickets and crowds, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The opening match between the host country, Côte d'Ivoire, and Guinea-Bissau, on Saturday, did not obtain the expected attendance. 

Indeed, of the 60,000 seats at the Stade Alassane Ouattara in Ébimpé, in Abidjan, only 38,000 spaces were occupied, confirmed the Organizing Committee and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a joint press release.

" Excluding the "so-called 'dead' places", that is to say, those including "safety seats, replacement seats and places with reduced visibility", the SAOE offers 50,786 places exploitable. 

They add that 47,000 tickets were put on sale, "among which some were sold to the general public, and others reserved by companies and institutions". 

“This distribution was carried out by the needs of the different audiences concerned and the terms of the agreements signed between Ivory Coast and CAF, the sole owner of the competition, within the framework of the host agreement ", the statement read.

The Organising committee has promised measures to guarantee easier access to the competition ticket office.

 “We are taking charge of the problem. You will see the results in 48 hours,” Prime Minister Beugré Mambé added on Monday. Thus, tickets reserved for participating countries and those “grouped” made available to legal entities will be put back on sale “in the event of cancellation or unsold items”. Around fifty points of sale have already been opened for this purpose, including around thirty in the Abidjan district alone.