Like most Sunderland fans, I had heard of AFCON but truthfully only knew the basics.
But after a week in Marrakech, I was increasingly aware of my Mambas, Super Eagles, Zebras, Leopards, Elephants and had
even figured out that Bafana Bafana that I kept hearing about was in fact the nickname of the South Africa team and not one of their players.
Upon arrival at the airport there were lots of fans milling about taking photos with AFCON displays. One lucky group of South Africans were competition winners who had been tasked with supporting their first game and they started singing as soon as they got off the plane.
You may have seen lots of empty seats at matches that did not involve Morocco. There has been lots of discussion about whether Moroccans were not supporting AFCON. Unfortunately, the experience of obtaining tickets on the digital-only platform was problematic. Before you even tried, you needed to set up a Fan ID where your phone’s NFC had to scan the chip in your passport. I know several people who never got past this process.
They also cut off ticket sales 24 hours before kick-off without prior warning. African football fans tend to purchase last minute so no doubt thousands of ticket sales were lost for each match.
For this reason, myself and several pals missed out on South Africa vs Angola, a match where I was directly emailed by the ticket office to say it was sold out, but in fact only had an attendance of 4,013.
The empty seats were such a concern that in Agadir at Egypt vs Zimbabwe, an announcement was made shortly before kick-off that the stadium had opened for free entry. Consequently, by the end of the first half the stadium had filled up with Moroccan locals.
One of the highlights for me was the Fanzone based at Camellos, which we went to for Morocco vs Comoros. We arrived several hours before kick-off and the traditional music and dancing had already started outside the entrance. The Fanzone itself was impressive. A vast space with lots of activities for kids (including what can only be described as sumo wrestling football).
There were lots of photo opportunities with AFCON posters, which were noteworthy, as Adingra was a chosen poster boy.
There was a party zone in the corporate area where the singing and dancing reached a new level of intensity and a vast viewing space with three large screens, pre-match entertainment and a stage with in-built fireworks for the big moments. Singing and dancing fans paraded in waving flags and flares and singing.
We were very excited for the atmosphere with thousands of fans packed into the viewing zone.
Bizarrely though, when the match started, it was watched in virtual silence. We returned to the main square at half-time to watch the screen there. Again, thousands of fans, but an unanticipated calm. Although people cheered when Morocco scored, a return to an eerie silence occurred within a minute.
Later, I discussed this with locals and they asked “Were there lots of police around?” I said “Yes” and they stated “Then that is why. It would be louder if you watched in cafes.”
Perhaps the strangest phenomenon was when the match finished the screens were instantly turned off and, like a dispersing flashmob, the Square returned to its usual joyful, noisy hustle and bustle. The snakes, monkeys and traditional musicians were back in place within minutes.
The Game – Ivory Coast vs Mozambique. Stade de Marrakech
Finally, Christmas Eve and the big match with Mozambique’s Reinildo arrived.
My friend Nassima and I headed off in the rain on her motorbike with a bag full of last season’s strips that Sunderland AFC had kindly donated to this wannabe Mackem Santa. Epic fail, however, in forgetting my Santa hat and being unable to find a replacement in the souks.
Sunderland AFC had asked me to wear a red and white Reinildo shirt, and as we flew along the motorway, I heard another motorbike shout, “Hey Sunderland, Reinildo. We met you in the souks.” Now, on my first day exploring, I might have been a bit excited, running around and singing football songs with all the souk owners.
So both bikes joined in a rendition of “He’s in your head, in your head, Talbi, Talbi, Talbi ii ii.”
We arrived at the Stade de Marrakech, a stadium with a capacity of 45,240. The attendance was 13,041 which still generated a great atmosphere despite the failings of the stadium which had a running track between pitch and fans and also had some kind of artificial hybrid surface which seemed to upend players in the rain.
This was after we had had to walk about a kilometre to the stadium and go through at least six ticket checkpoints. Nassima and I gave out strips to as many fans as we could and turned our part of the stands red and white in the hope Reinildo would see.
We clocked that strips will be taken back to eight different nations spreading the Mackem joy – Mozambique, Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Denmark, America and France (from where I discovered a Talbi lookalike called Adam). Reinildo lined up as a centre-back but alas the result was not meant to be, although watching Amad score for the Ivory Coast was wonderful. To borrow from a recent Welbeck quote, we all know Amad is a Mackem at heart, so still an early Christmas pressie for this fan.
AFCON was an absolute privilege to experience and I would recommend it to any fan. AFCON 2027 will take place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. A shout out to barman Hamza who educated me on all aspects of this magnificent tournament and put the Sunderland vs Brighton match on for me.
If you would like to learn more follow the official social media which goes by the name ‘TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations’ which I found invaluable. And to give you a lasting smile on your face, enjoy Reinildo’s singing and dancing with his Mamba teammates in this YouTube clip. Cracking singing and dancing by Reinildo!
I hope he brings it back to the SOL.
