RABAT, Morocco (AP) — South Africa coach Hugo Bros was not feeling the usual vibes at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Bruce, who guided Cameroon to the title in Gabon in 2017 and South Africa to a third-place finish in Ivory Coast in 2023, said on Sunday there was a lack of enthusiasm for the 35th World Cup.
advertise
“In Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon, every second of the game you felt like you were in a game,” Broos said. “When we took the bus to train, people were waving, they were holding flags, and here you can’t see anything. So, I don’t know, but yeah, there’s no atmosphere, there’s no typical Africa Cup of Nations atmosphere. I don’t feel that here.”
The Belgian coach was speaking in Marrakech ahead of South Africa’s final group game against Zimbabwe on Monday. The Bafana team started with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Angola in Marrakech, and then lost 0-1 to Egypt in Agadir.
Egypt advanced to the round of 16 from Group B with a maximum of six points from two games. South Africa follows with three points, while Angola and Zimbabwe have one point each.
Angola will face Egypt on Monday, with the top two players in each group advancing, along with the best third place player.
advertise
Organizers have struggled to fill stadiums and the weather hasn’t helped. It rained heavily every day of the game except Thursday, when there was no game because Christmas is a Christian holiday. Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country.
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in the summer, but was postponed to the winter to avoid conflicting with FIFA’s new Club World Cup in the United States.
Even the sell-out match in Morocco saw empty seats, with touts accused of snapping up tickets, keeping fans out of the nearly 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdullah Stadium, where the home team is playing all their group matches.
Security measures at other stadiums allow fans to enter freely after kick-off to increase attendance. This resulted in supporters without tickets waiting outside, thinking they would be allowed in.
advertise
“No one came to watch South Africa play Angola,” Broos said after criticizing the arrangements for the team’s subsequent game against Egypt. “There was chaos before the game… They blocked everyone, even people with tickets. They couldn’t get into the stadium because there was a group of people who didn’t have tickets but were allowed in.”
Broos praised the “beautiful stadiums” – all nine of which were either new or refurbished for the tournament – but said the atmosphere at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was exceptionally “cool”.
“If they don’t let people be free in the stadium, there won’t be anyone,” he said. “No one came to watch South Africa play Zimbabwe.”
Morocco is also a co-host of the 2030 World Cup.
___
AP Africa Cup of Nations: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
