Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mane are starring and tickets are only 70p... so why are AFCON crowds so sparse?

  • This year's AFCON in Gabon has been noted for its empty seats on television 
  • The tournament hosts have drawn a pretty decent crowd when playing
  • The least expensive tickets to watch Gabon equate to a little under 70p
  • However, there is a culture in Africa to watch games on TV rather that at grounds
  • Also the stadia in Gabon are many kilometres outside their main towns and cities

The Africa Cup of Nations is now almost at the end of its second round of group matches, and the competition has thrown up some cracking games.

Unlike two years ago the football has been exciting, for the most part, with surprise results and plenty of goals.

And yet, for the viewer watching at home in the UK, it might come as a surprise to see that, despite this being Africa's premier tournament, the crowds have been, at best, sparse.

This year's AFCON in Gabon has seen the tournament played to a backdrop of empty seats

This year's AFCON in Gabon has seen the tournament played to a backdrop of empty seats

Tournament hosts Gabon have been well attended with star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Tournament hosts Gabon have been well attended with star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

However, other matches have been sparsely attended for various factors such as location

However, other matches have been sparsely attended for various factors such as location

The opening ceremony in Liberville on January 14 saw more empty seats than people

The opening ceremony in Liberville on January 14 saw more empty seats than people

Why is that? Well there are a number of factors.


First it is important to note that Gabon, as the tournament hosts, have drawn pretty decent crowd, pretty much filling the Stade de l'Amitie in Libreville, which holds 38,000.

This has been helped by cheap tickets - the least expensive are 500 Central African Francs, which is a little under 70p - and also the government giving plenty of extra tickets away free. Whether you see that as a cynical attempt to avoid empty grounds, or a gracious gift to fans, depends on your point of view.

Even then, the hosts haven't quite been blessed with capacity crowds. Possibly, this is the result of an opposition boycott, seeking to undermine the government. More likely, it's just that the ground is a long way out of town, and particularly on working days, it's not always easy to get time off - particularly when their side is failing to fire on all cylinders.

But the host nation, at least, have played in front of mostly-full stands. It's a different story in games that don't involve Gabon. There were barely 1,000 people in the stadium when Algeria kicked off against Tunisia, despite it being one of the stand-out games of the group stages.

There were barely 1,000 people in the stadium when Algeria and Tunisia played on Thursday

There were barely 1,000 people in the stadium when Algeria and Tunisia played on Thursday

Part of this stems from a cultural difference between European and African football. In Europe, and particularly England, we place a huge importance on going to club football, which then extends to travelling with the national team. Watching in the ground makes you a 'real' supporter.

However, in much of Africa most people's main experience of football is watching foreign leagues - especially the Premier League - on TV. The standard is higher, you support a team, and you accept that you won't be able to watch in the flesh.

If that is your standard football-watching experience, when a major tournament comes around, why would you change it? Perhaps if it is a chance to watch your own team, but it's not easy to encourage those who rarely go to stadiums to sit in the sweltering heat to view two nations they have no affinity to.

The empty grounds don't show a lack of interest, then, just a different way of supporting.

It is common in Africa to watch games on TV as opposed to attending games in the flesh

It is common in Africa to watch games on TV as opposed to attending games in the flesh

So convincing Gabonese fans to turn out in numbers to watch two other sides was never realistic, whatever the ticket prices. This is particularly true when, in three of the four cities, the stadia are some way outside town.

In Oyem, a town of just 60,000, the ground is 20km away, and is hosting no games of local interest. There is no way they can fill a 20,000-seater under those circumstances.

Then there are the lack of travelling fans. Algeria, a hugely passionate footballing nation, brought merely a few dozen fans to watch their last game. In fact, they were outnumbered by the Algerian journalists, so there is no lack of interest back home.

Morocco have a few more, but the provisions for them are so poor that some fans are sleeping in a tent outside their hotel in Oyem. The Ivorian supporters all fit into one large hotel, and they are one of the biggest groups.

Ivory Coast's fans have been a sea of orange but their small following all fit into one large hotel

Ivory Coast's fans have been a sea of orange but their small following all fit into one large hotel

There just isn't a culture of travelling to these tournaments. Those who do are often official groups, subsidised by their own federation. Long-distance travel is expensive, logistically difficult, and relatively unusual here.

Where the crowds have been decent - bigger than at many other recent AFCONs - is in games involving the likes of Burkina Faso and Senegal - teams with huge expat populations in Gabon.

The Senegalese fans, mostly local immigrants, created a tremendous atmosphere in Franceville, while both Cameroon and Burkina Faso had decent followings in Libreville.

It may not look good on TV, but this Cup of Nations is actually getting better in-stadium attendances than most of its predecessors.

And when you see huge blocks empty seats, it doesn't mean that no-one cares. They just watch their football in a different way.

Senegal have one of the largest followings due to their huge expat population in Gabon

Senegal have one of the largest followings due to their huge expat population in Gabon