Since the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), currently being held in Morocco, Moroccan social media has been buzzing with remarks about the atmosphere in stadiums during the Atlas Lions' matches. These reactions question the level of engagement and interaction in the stands. Some have gone as far as criticizing Moroccan fans' involvement, comparing them to regular stadium-goers and ultras. Is this an accurate assessment, a false debate, or an unfair comparison? Moroccan fans during the inauguration game of AFCON 2025, Morocco vs. Comoros, at Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. / Ph. AA ‹ › To explore these questions and analyze the dynamics of Moroccan football supporters during a major tournament such as AFCON, Yabiladi interviewed Abderrahim Bourkia, Professor of Sociology of Sport and Media at the Institute of Sport Sciences at Hassan I University of Settat and President of the Moroccan Association of Sociology of Sport (MASS). How do you interpret these remarks regarding the atmosphere in the stadiums ? Everyone expresses themselves according to what they carry within and how they perceive the spectators: those attending and the others, the «lucky ones», whose presence often fuels resentment among those who are not attending. It's always about «us» and «them», and «why him/her and not me», which are fatal elements for society's cohesion. As the Arabic proverb says, «each vessel spills what it contains». Readings and criticisms therefore differ from one individual to another, depending on their culture, understanding, and objectives. These interpretations are shaped by several criteria, including one's cultural load, cultural and economic capital, social position, ideological grounding (when it exists), as well as inner impulses that individuals may be unable to restrain, and which social media platforms have made it possible to express publicly. Some argue that many spectators attending AFCON matches are not regular stadium-goers, but rather occasional fans or families, which affects chanting and interaction in the stands. Do you think this perception is accurate? This perception is largely accurate, but we need to approach it with a sociological nuance rather than a value judgment. During this successful edition of the Africa Cup, stadium-goers are different. The stadium temporarily shifts from a routine football space into an event-driven, festive arena and other forms of socialization. It attracts other social groups who are not regular stadium-goers: families, occasional fans, tourists, or spectators drawn by the symbolic importance of the event rather than by long-term immersion in supporter and ultras culture. Of course, this affects the nature of chanting and interaction in the stands, where spontaneous applause and individual reactions tend to replace collective and well-organized actions, coordinated chants, slogans, and sustained collective rhythms. Are ultras and regular club supporters better equipped to create a «real» stadium atmosphere, and is it fair to say they should have been more present at AFCON matches ? We could not say the opposite. Supporter groups and ultras are on another level, and they bring another dimension to a game. They are very much actors rather than spectators. Whether we like them or not, their support is highly structured, with a clear division of roles, turning the group into a «well-oiled machine» whose activities are ritualized and often transformed into spaces or platforms for social, cultural, or political expression. But both are welcome. This does not imply a decline in passion for football. Rather, it highlights the coexistence of different modes of spectatorship. Both forms are legitimate, but they produce different behaviors and soundscapes inside the stadium. Abderrahim Bourkia, Professor of Sociology of Sport and Media. / Ph. DR Does this mean that the audience attending national team matches is fundamentally different from club supporters, in terms of behavior, expectations, and ways of expressing support ? Yes, of course. Despite the fact that there are three supporter groups for our national team, «Rosso Verde», «Sbou3a», and another whose name I don't remember, they make significant efforts with drums, tambourines, chants, and slogans, and they manage to set the rhythm throughout the full 90 minutes of the match. There are also groups such as Agadir's Ultras Imazighan, who volunteered to help animate the Adrar Stadium. I was there for a conference held by the Wilaya of the Agadir Region, acting as a consultant on social and cultural contexts for a law firm assessing the city's level of readiness to host major sporting events. I do not know whether they were officially invited or not, but in any case, I saw some of them in the stands, present alongside Egyptian supporters. To what extent do ticket pricing, distribution, and access shape who ends up in the stadiums, and therefore the type of atmosphere we see during matches ? All these mechanisms play a major role in shaping the identity of those who occupy the stands. And this is what I don't like about football these days, not only in Morocco, but across the globe. The game has been profoundly transformed and is drifting away from its popular roots. High ticket prices or opaque and unequal distribution systems tend to exclude large segments of traditional supporters, particularly youth, students, and working-class passionate fans, who usually form the backbone of collective chanting, enthusiasm, and visual spectacle. How has social media amplified this debate ? When it comes to social media, I will quote the same Arabic proverb: «each vessel spills what it contains». Some use their platforms to attract «likes» and «clicks», exploiting this kind of event as material to generate audience and visibility, to make exchanges more immediate and widespread, to entertain, to mock, and to provoke, just to present themselves as «super cool». It's like a theatre. They engage in performance and a form of staging. This says a lot about «us», Moroccans, and about the way we experience football, not just as a sport, but also as a mirror through which we perform, consume, and display our identity and sense of belonging.
