/ 26 January 2000

ROW OVER NATIONS CUP TICKET SALES

ORGANISERS of ticket sales for African Nations Cup matches in northern Nigeria downed tools in Kano on Tuesday in protest at ongoing distribution problems.

Just hours ahead of Tuesday’s match between Burkina Faso and Senegal, the Kano section of the event’s Nigerian organising committee told reporters they are pulling out in exasperation at the national committee.

“Tickets which are supposed to be in Kano at least 48 hours to the kick off of any match are only brought five hours to kick off time, stormed Kano organising official Mohammed Babangida.

“It is not acceptable to us,” he said.

The row is the latest upset to dog the tournament, being co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. On Monday only 5000 supporters got tickets for the Algeria-DR Congo match in Kumasi, Ghana.

On Sunday, touts bought up almost all the tickets for the opening round Egypt-Zambia African Nations Cup match, selling them at up to three times the face value.