ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Officially, the crowd attendance at the African Cup of Nations final between hosts Ivory Coast and Nigeria was tallied at 57,094 people — but who can say for sure?
That figure couldn’t possibly account for the herds of supporters who sprinted through the parking lot of the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara, forced their way past the entrance gates, and descended on the stadium, forcing everyone inside, ticketed or not, to squeeze into the few remaining seats, the steps beside them, and the walkways between sections. No way could it include the hundreds of tournament volunteers who abandoned their posts and became spectators as soon as the first whistle blew, singing and swearing and dancing along with the rest of us as les Éléphants of Côte d’Ivoire continued their mind-boggling fairy tale of a title run, coming from behind to beat Nigeria 2-1 and earn their third AFCON championship.
By Tamerra Griffin
For ANSCAPE.com