""In the Ivory Coast and in Gabon, every second of the tournament you felt that you were in a tournament," Broos said. "The people were -- when we went with the bus to train -- the people were waving and they were with flags, and here you see nothing. So, I don't know, but yeah, there is no vibe, there is no typical AFCON vibe. I don't feel it here.""
"Organizers have struggled to fill stadiums and the weather hasn't helped. There has been heavy rainfall every day of the tournament, except for Thursday when there were no games on the Christian holiday of Christmas Day. Morocco is a predominately Muslim country. The tournament was originally scheduled for the summer, but it was pushed back to winter so it wouldn't clash with FIFA's new Club World Cup played in the United States."
The 35th Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco lacks the typical AFCON atmosphere experienced in previous tournaments in Ivory Coast and Gabon. Attendance has been low at many venues despite some matches being sold out, and touting and ticket hoarding have created empty seats. Heavy daily rainfall has disrupted conditions, and security policies have sometimes let fans enter free after kickoff. Tournament scheduling moved from summer to winter to avoid clashing with FIFA's Club World Cup, and group standings show Egypt leading Group B with South Africa and Angola competing for progression.
Read at ESPN.com
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