Morocco declared African Cup champions after winning appeal
In an unprecedented twist, Morocco has been named as the winning team of the 2025 AFCON (African Cup Of Nations) after the CAF (Confederation of African Football) overturned Senegal’s victory, reports Africa News on 18th March.
The chaotic final of the competition, held in Rabat on 18th January, saw the Senegalese team leave the pitch with their coach for over 15 minutes in protest over a penalty awarded to Morocco. While they eventually came back and went on to win the competition 1-0 during extra time, the game was marred in controversy and violence erupted between fans and security staff.
The CAF based their ruling on article 82 of the competition’s regulations, which stipulates that any team who leaves the ground or refuses to play before the end of the game shall be eliminated from the competition. They also reduced fines and sanctions given to Moroccan players, but maintained Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw’s suspension, for leading his team off the pitch.
The announcement was received with anger across Africa, with accusations of corruption. The Senegalese federation has already announced it plans to appeal the decision and take the case to the court of arbitration in Switzerland. In a statement, it called the ruling “unjust and unprecedented”, and said it would continue to defend Senegalese football.
Despite its dramatic final, the 2025 AFCON, hosted by Morocco, has beaten audience records with a reported 61% increase in viewership, reflecting growing interest for African football. France and the United Kingdom contributed largely to this growth, but there was also a significant increase in viewers from South America and East Asia, making the 2025 AFCON the most distributed edition of the competition.
With large investments in infrastructure and transport, and an elaborate opening ceremony, Morocco was able to attract international visitors and gather interest for African football, hosting what FIFA chief Gianni Infantino described as the “most beautiful AFCON in history”.
Africa News, Hespress, Maghrebi.org
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