AFCON 2023: black market in tickets is Ivory Coast's scourge

The area around the FIF headquarters is teeming with people on 16 October 2023. On the eve of Ivory Coast v South Africa, fans are scrambling for tickets priced at 3 euros, 7.5 euros and 15 euros. Of the fourteen sales points, only this site is drawing all the attention. There are no tickets left anywhere else. Some buyers bought them in bulk to resell at a steep markup a few hours before the match on 17 October 2023. It was the same against Morocco on 14 October 2023. That angered a number of fans, who strongly criticised the FIF for selling several tickets to a third party, arguing that it fuels this trade. Of the 22,500 tickets put on sale for each match, more than half end up on the black market.

"Now they tell us there are no more 3-euro and 7.5-euro tickets. Only the 15-euro ones are left. It's outrageous. We don't have the money to pay that much. At 3 euros, we can stretch to it. At 7.5 euros, we can make the effort, but beyond that it gets difficult. We don't work, but we love our national team and we want to go and see it. It's a shame the FIF doesn't back all that," railed G. Stéphane, met at a petrol station in Treichville, 200 m from the Ivorian Football Federation.

"There are no tickets at the other sales points. And when you come to the Federation, the chaos is such that you no longer feel like going to the stadium. Worse, within the Federation itself, there are officials flooding the black market after buying hundreds and hundreds of 3-euro and 7.5-euro tickets to resell them at higher prices. It's a shame that the FIF, which is supposed to be transparent, is complicit with the black-market sellers. Because of them, 3-euro tickets go for 6 or even 9 euros, 7.5-euro ones for 15 or even 20 euros, and 15-euro ones for 30 euros and more. In short, prices are soaring and we don't know what to do. They sell at inflated prices on the black market to make more money while we suffer," said N. Sabrina, an Ivorian of Moroccan origin who, like all Ivorians, is fed up with the ticket trafficking just months before the AFCON.

"The FIF is not involved in the black market"

 

Cornered from all sides and accused everywhere, the FIF, through its executive director Armand Gohourou, held a press conference on 15 October 2023, the day after Côte d’Ivoire-Morocco (1-1), to deny all the accusations outright and announce an internal investigation to shed light on the black market surrounding these coveted tickets.

"Since preparations began for the Elephants' friendlies against Morocco and South Africa, we have put in place a ticketing system rolled out across the main sites with fourteen sales points. Four sales points at the FIF, two windows at the town halls of Yopougon, Cocody, Adjamé and Plateau, one at Cap Nord and one at Cap Sud. The instructions are strict so that Ivorians are served. One person must not buy more than three tickets for the match against South Africa. If he pays for three tickets, we go on the basis that there is one for him and two for two members of his family. If he needs to buy more than three, he must have express authorisation from the executive management. If he wants to do so for other individuals, he must bring their identity documents and phone numbers so that we can contact them before serving them," Gohourou explained to SNA on 16 October at his office in the Maison de verre in Treichville.

He did not fail to list the measures taken to avoid any problems linked to ticket buying. "We studied things carefully before going ahead with the sales. People are talking nonsense and untruths. No human undertaking is perfect, and it must be acknowledged that there were some minor hitches at the start, but instructions were issued straight away. But the FIF is not involved in the black market or anything of the sort. Under police control, no one can get into the FIF. This morning of 16 October, the eve of Côte d'Ivoire-South Africa, if you come to the FIF without valid authorisation you cannot get in. As for what happens outside, there are things we can't necessarily control. I have also asked that there be no intermediaries between the ticket clerks and the public," the executive director insisted.

Since 24 March 2023, a number of complaints have been noted, but the FIF has always dismissed them out of hand, even threatening those spreading rumours with legal action. November, the last ticket-sales test before the AFCON, should be decisive in restoring the confidence of the fans of the Elephants.

Sanh Séverin