The Africa Cup of Nations doesn't seem to be attracting large crowds in Morocco, at least not during the ongoing group stage. RMC Sport reports that the match between Egypt and Zimbabwe on Monday evening was played out in a practically empty Adrar Stadium in Agadir, with only a few hundreds fans.
The number of spectators increased as the match went on... but only because the organisers opened the gates and allowed people to enter free of charge. According to estimates, more than 30,000 spectators filled the stadium in 15 minutes and watched how Egypt came from behind with goals by Omar Marmoush (from Manchester City) and a stoppage-time winner goal by Mohamed Salah (from Liverpool, at least for now).
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Videos posted on social media, as well as aerial images of the stadium, show how empty it was and how thousands of people walked to it when they knew that the doors were open. According to RMC, this has happened in other matches, which are mostly empty, except those with the host nation Morocco.
What do you think about this decision to open the gates and allow people to enter for free to the football match? It would be unthinkable for next summer's World Cup, we fear...