In the early hours of Monday morning, a fleet of cars lay abandoned in sludge around eight kilometres north of Marrakech.

It had rained heavily on the previous day, but motorists attending the pulsating Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) group-stage 1-1 draw between Cameroon and Ivory Coast at the Grande Stade de Marrakech were guided onto the terrain beside the N9 dual carriageway by whistle-tooting traffic wardens. In some places, the earth totally gave way like a sinkhole, taking vehicles into the semi-desert. Without a tow truck, they were staying there for the foreseeable future.

It was not the only issue that marred the experience for fans on an evening that raised serious questions over the stadium’s suitability as a venue for not only games at AFCON this year, but also for the World Cup in four and a half years.

Marrakech is one of six Moroccan cities set to host matches at the 2030 World Cup, which — to commemorate the competition’s centenary — will also take place in Spain and Portugal, with Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay also taking one game each. With visitors expected to flood into the country from across the globe, the scenes that followed Sunday’s AFCON match should be giving FIFA serious pause for thought. 

Despite vast space for parking in all directions within the rounded limits of the stadium — the Confederation of African Football (CAF) website states there is space for 7,500 vehicles — the perimeter gates remained shut in the hours before kick-off, and supporters were only allowed to approach other layers of tight security on foot.

Yet some did not make it in until late in the first half, following overcrowding at the turnstiles outside. Rhys Hartley, a fan who attended the game and raised concerns over the organisation in Marrakech on his X account, told The Athletic that his friends had seen a crush developing at Gate D outside the ground, as supporters tried to make their way inside.

Fans crowd outside an entrance to the Grande Stade de Marrakech (David Wilcox)

According to the CAF website, the Grande Stade, which was opened in 2011 after building began in 2003, has a capacity of 45,240. The official attendance on Sunday was 35,165 but to the naked eye, it seemed like many more seats were empty than claimed.

Low attendances in some of this tournament’s earliest games led to online rumours that a policy of free entry after 20 minutes had been introduced, but according to local media reports, CAF has denied this.

The Athletic contacted CAF for clarification on the free ticket rumours and the reports of a crush at the turnstiles, but it had not responded by the time of publication. FIFA was also approached for comment.