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Morocco declared 2025 AFCON champions after CAF overturns final defeat to Senegal.
African football was rocked by one of its most extraordinary rulings when CAF's appeals board overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, declaring hosts Morocco champions two months after Senegal had lifted the trophy on the pitch. Senegal had won the Rabat final 1-0 after extra time through a Pape Gueye goal, with Morocco's Brahim Diaz having a late penalty saved by Édouard Mendy.
The appeals board awarded Morocco a 3-0 default win, ruling that Senegal had "forfeited" after their players briefly walked off during stoppage time, citing the competition's regulations. Senegal announced it would take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, setting up a bitter legal fight over one of the continent's biggest prizes.
The decision stunned fans across Africa and reignited debate about officiating, governance and consistency in the game's administration. For a tournament meant to celebrate African football at its best, a title decided in a committee room rather than on the field is precisely the kind of controversy the sport can ill afford – and one that supporters will be arguing over for years.
This story was put together by K N N from material first published by Euronews & ESPN.
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African football was rocked by one of its most extraordinary rulings when CAF’s appeals board overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, declaring hosts Morocco champions two months after Senegal had lifted the trophy on the pitch. Senegal had won the Rabat final 1-0 after extra time through a Pape Gueye goal, with Morocco’s Brahim Diaz having a late penalty saved by Édouard Mendy.
The appeals board awarded Morocco a 3-0 default win, ruling that Senegal had “forfeited” after their players briefly walked off during stoppage time, citing the competition’s regulations. Senegal announced it would take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, setting up a bitter legal fight over one of the continent’s biggest prizes.
The decision stunned fans across Africa and reignited debate about officiating, governance and consistency in the game’s administration. For a tournament meant to celebrate African football at its best, a title decided in a committee room rather than on the field is precisely the kind of controversy the sport can ill afford — and one that supporters will be arguing over for years.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
