CHAN 2024: Kenyan fans frustrated as ticketing portal crashes

The ticket sales went live at exactly noon, but within minutes, the website crashed, leaving thousands of supporters stranded and anxious. Many fans, eager to cheer the Stars who topped Group A after a 1-0 victory over Zambia, expressed disappointment at the hiccup that denied them a fair chance.

Three hours later, official ticketing partner Mookh Africa released a statement acknowledging the frustrations. The company revealed that their system had been overwhelmed by automated bots, which prevented genuine supporters from securing tickets as intended.

“Our team is actively working to stop this so that tickets go to fans—not bots,” the statement read in part.

The yellow-colored statement, shared widely on social media, assured supporters that tickets would soon be back on sale. While the reassurance offered some comfort, the anxiety among fans continues to mount, especially with the highly anticipated fixture drawing closer.

Uncertainty still surrounds the number of tickets sold so far, particularly after CAF restricted Kasarani’s capacity to 60 percent—around 27,000 seats—owing to security breaches witnessed during Kenya’s group clash against Morocco.

That restriction, coupled with the ticketing chaos, has left many Kenyans fearing a repeat of the confusion that marred sales for the Morocco game, when tickets were mysteriously released in the dead of night.

Local Organizing Committee (LOC) chairman Nicholas Musonye has consistently maintained that CAF is managing tickets, but the latest challenges are already fueling mistrust among fans.

With just days remaining before the quarter-final showdown against Madagascar, the hope is that order will be restored in time for Harambee Stars supporters to fill Kasarani and rally the team to victory.

For now, all eyes remain on Mookh Africa and CAF to ensure genuine fans get their rightful chance inside the stadium on Friday.