The African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 in Kenya has been hit by a ticketing scandal and a security lapse, sparking public outrage and renewed calls for reform in sports event management.
On Sunday, hundreds of fans were locked out of the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, despite holding what appeared to be legitimate tickets. Many reported that their tickets had already been scanned, a sign they may have been resold multiple times after bulk purchases by unscrupulous individuals.
The incident has intensified scrutiny on the Football Kenya Federation’s (FKF) ticketing system, with allegations of corruption and inefficiency taking centre stage. Former nominated MP Wilson Sossion urged the government to adopt a secure, transparent ticketing structure to protect revenue and restore public trust.
“If we want to monetize the creative economy and football, we must have an efficient ticketing system that enables FKF to collect the much-needed revenue,” Sossion told Citizen TV. “These fraudsters are spoiling the game. The corruption and inefficiencies in FKF’s ticketing must be dealt with.”
Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo also weighed in, warning that the surge in attendance has outstripped stadium capacity. He proposed expanding fan engagement through public viewing screens to reduce crowding and ticket demand.
“We have more supporters than we can accommodate. The stampedes you see are teething problems. We need other strategies, such as putting up screens in different places,” Ngogoyo said.
Concerns have mounted over the open resale of tickets near Kasarani, particularly on match days. Several locked-out fans pointed fingers at black-market vendors for the chaos.
The situation escalated during Sunday’s Kenya vs. Morocco clash when some supporters attempted to scale the stadium’s perimeter fence to gain entry. Despite heavy police deployment, several managed to breach security, sparking a near-stampede and raising fears of further disciplinary action from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The FKF is already under CAF sanction, having been fined KSh 2.5 million for previous crowd control failures. CAF has warned that repeated violations during the tournament, co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, could attract harsher penalties.
As CHAN 2024 enters its decisive stages, FKF is under mounting pressure to tighten ticketing controls, curb black-market sales, and ensure matchday security, or risk further embarrassment on the continental stage.
