Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has given his honest take on the ongoing CAF 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco, stating that it has “no vibe.”
The AFCON competition commenced last Sunday, 21 December 2025, with the hosts, Morocco, securing a 2-0 win over Comoros in the tournament’s opener at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah.
Broos likened the ongoing AFCON tournament in Morocco to the one he guided Cameroon to win in 2017 in Gabon and the one he steered South Africa to a third-place finish in the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast.
The Belgian mentor has succeeded in guiding Bafana led by captain Ronwen Williams to the Round of 16 of the AFCON tournament after finishing second in Group B with six points from three outings.
As things stand, South Africa is waiting to see who they will battle from Group F in the Last 16 between Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Mozambique.
‘I DON’T FEEL IT HERE’: HUGO BROOS
The 73-year-old coach firmly claimed that he doesn’t feel the usual AFCON atmosphere in Morocco.
“It’s not good. I don’t feel the same vibe that I felt in Ivory Coast and Gabon. But there’s no vibe; I just don’t know how to explain it. You know, in Ivory Coast and Gabon, every second of the tournament, you felt that you were in a tournament, and when we went by bus to train, the people were waving and holding flags,” said Broos.
“So, I don’t know, but here there’s no vibe. There’s no typical AFCON vibe. I don’t feel it here. Yes, it’s cool; we played a game at the stadiums and everything you watched. But if they don’t let the people in at the stadium for free, there’s nobody. I mean, nobody is coming to watch the game between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Nobody came to see the game between South Africa and Angola.
“But in Ivory Coast, there were crowds in the stadiums. People were involved in the tournament, but I don’t feel that way here.”
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