2025 AFCON: a security crash test before 2030

Held from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) served as a full-scale operational test for Morocco’s security and judicial apparatus five years ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Beyond the number of incidents recorded, the event was above all an opportunity to assess the Moroccan system’s ability to deal in real time with offenses and tensions related to an international competition.
The report released jointly by the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, and the police (Directorate General of National Security, DGSN) lists 529 law enforcement interventions and 202 individuals brought before the judicial offices set up in the stadiums. The first lesson learned is that the majority of incidents involved access to the venues.
Of the 529 interventions, 307 involved identity checks. At stadium entrances, 68 attempts to gain access without a ticket and 17 cases of counterfeit tickets were recorded. Offenses related to drugs (16 cases) and possession of smoke bombs (20 cases) remained limited. Five knives and two tear gas canisters were seized. The offense of fraudulent access or attempted access tops the list with 25.48% of offenses, followed by ticket speculation (10.96%) and intrusion onto the playing field (7.46%). Pressure has been focused on ticketing, a strategic link in the economic model of major competitions.
Ahead of the matches, 396 people were arrested in several cities across the Kingdom on suspicion of speculation, following the identification of posts on social media. The computerized security monitoring system detected advertisements offering tickets outside the official channels. Beyond public order, the issue concerns the protection of revenue and the credibility of the organizational system. The judicial system deployed in the stadiums handled 152 cases, resulting in the appearance of 202 individuals. Prosecutors decided to prosecute and refer 82 cases to court. Settlements were reached in 56 cases, 12 cases were referred to the judicial police for further investigation, and two were dismissed. Moroccans accounted for 79.2% of those referred to court, while foreign nationals accounted for 20.8%.
The deployment of judicial offices in stadiums during the 2025 African Cup of Nations coincided with the entry into force, on December 8, 2025, of the amended Code of Criminal Procedure, in particular Article 1-41 relating to plea bargain, the scope of which has been broadened. In practical terms, the public prosecutor’s office can propose a settlement fine for a wider range of minor offenses without resorting to a traditional hearing. The case is settled on the spot, the fine is paid immediately, and the case is closed. This reduces delays and limits the backlog in the courts.o
Amine BOUSHABA