They were spotted on social media. Moroccan police arrested eight people in several cities across the country suspected of “illegal speculation” on match tickets for the 2025 African Cup of Nations, which is currently being held in Morocco, local media reported on Tuesday.
According to a police source cited by the Hespress information site, “IT monitoring services” spotted publications on social networks offering the resale of tickets “at prices well above their value” in “violation of the law”, which led to the opening of investigations.
The arrests took place in particular in Agadir, Marrakech and Rabat, said the same source. “Investigations are continuing to arrest” other people “possibly involved”, according to the information site Le360, which indicates that the people arrested were placed in police custody as part of the judicial investigation. Contacted by AFP, the Moroccan police did not immediately respond.
Stadiums far from full
Although the opening match of the CAN between Morocco and the Comoros (2-0) was announced as a sellout, 60,180 spectators attended, leaving 9,320 seats empty at the Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat, which raised many questions on social networks. Since then, the stadiums have been far from full. On Monday, the organizers even opened the doors of the Agadir stadium, which hosted the match between Egypt and Zimbabwe, free of charge at half-time to fill the aisles.
Morocco hosts the 35th edition of the CAN from December 21 to January 18. In 2030, the kingdom will be the second African country to host a World Cup, 20 years after South Africa, jointly with Spain and Portugal.
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