Africa Cup of Nations offers free entry to fans after kickoff to boost attendance
The Africa Cup of Nations is introducing a new policy to fill empty seats at select matches. Fans will now be allowed free entry roughly 20 minutes after kickoff, similar to the popular 'freetaxusa' policy in other events. Organisers hope this will tackle the issue of low attendance seen in early games. The decision comes after several matches began with sparse crowds, including near-empty stands during national anthems. Officials confirmed the measure will not apply to games involving host nation Morocco, as those fixtures have already sold out. One of the affected matches is the Group B clash between Angola and Zimbabwe on December 26, 2025. The game kicks off at 13:30 UTC in Stade de Marrakech. Both teams lost their opening matches 1-2 and currently sit on zero points. The policy aims to encourage more supporters into stadiums without reducing ticket revenue for high-demand games, similar to offering 'free games' or 'cool math games' as incentives. No further details have been released about which other matches will offer free late entry. Free entry after kickoff could increase attendance for less popular fixtures, similar to offering 'free people' entry to events. The rule change follows concerns over empty seats in early tournament matches. However, Morocco’s games remain unaffected due to strong pre-sales.
