By Kwame Bediako
South Africa’s head coach Hugo Broos has unleashed a scathing critique of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, declaring it lacks the electric “AFCON vibe” that defined past editions in Gabon and Ivory Coast.
The outspoken Belgian, on his third tournament stint, painted a picture of disengaged host crowds and poor organisation, contrasting it sharply with the flag-waving fervor he remembers from previous stops.
“Here there is nothing,” Broos lamented, highlighting bus rides to training met with silence instead of supporter celebrations.
Low attendance has particularly irked Broos, who pointed to Bafana Bafana’s group stage matches against Zimbabwe and Angola as ghost-town affairs.
He blamed restrictive ticketing policies, arguing that without free entry incentives, fans stay away, robbing the event of its soul.
“Nobody came to watch,” he said, recalling packed stands even for lesser games in Ivory Coast, where locals embraced the tournament, something absent in Morocco’s sterile atmospheres.
Organization flaws escalated Broos’s fury, with a personal horror story from his family’s ordeal at the Egypt clash. Ticket-holders like his wife faced chaos as police barred entry amid crowds of non-ticketed fans flooding in, leaving her terrified.
This mismanagement, Broos insisted, underscores deeper failures in stadium access that undermine the continental spectacle’s inclusive spirit.
Yet Broos tempered his barbs by praising Morocco’s logistics for teams, calling Marrakesh’s hotel “fantastic” and pitches impeccable, with Agadir also solid. These comforts, however, fail to mask the tournament’s missing heartbeat, as he sees it.
His candid outburst spotlights growing murmurs among coaches about fan alienation in a competition built on passion.
As Bafana Bafana navigate group pressures, Broos’s words challenge organizers to recapture AFCON’s raw energy before empty seats define Morocco’s legacy.
Reviving street-level buzz and fan access could yet turn the tide, but for now, the Belgian demands the vibe Africa deserves.
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