Supporter Typologies as a Framework for Sports Security Governance at Mega-Events: Morocco–Senegal 2025 AFCON Final

Abstract

This article examines sports security governance in Morocco through the case of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with particular attention to the Morocco–Senegal final held in Rabat on 18 January 2026. It argues that the event revealed a structural knowledge gap within contemporary mega-event security governance: the treatment of football crowds as homogeneous publics despite major differences in supporter cultures, repertoires of mobilization, and reactions to authority. Methodologically, the paper combines comparative typological analysis, institutional data, and case-based analytical narrative. The article shows that uniform techno-legal responses are often poorly adapted to differentiated crowd dynamics. It further demonstrates how policing failures can generate diplomatic and reputational externalities in the context of international tournaments. The Moroccan case therefore illustrates a broader governance challenge facing emerging host states preparing mega-events. The paper concludes by proposing a transition from reactive state-centric security toward culturally differentiated human security, based on mediation mechanisms, multilingual judicial safeguards, supporter liaison structures, and anticipatory risk intelligence.