Confederation of African Football has officially crowned Morocco champions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after overturning the final result against Senegal.
Senegal had originally won 1-0 after extra time in a tense final disrupted by a brief walk off by their players, following a stoppage time penalty awarded to Morocco. Although play resumed after a delay and the game was decided in extra time, CAF’s appeal board has now ruled otherwise.
In its decision, CAF stated that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match”, with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.
The governing body explained that “through the conduct of its team” Senegal violated Article 82 of AFCON regulations, which, alongside Article 84, mandates forfeiture for teams that refuse to continue play.
The ruling followed a successful appeal by Morocco’s football federation, which CAF said is “declared admissible in form”.
Reacting to the decision, Senegal’s football authorities described it as “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable”, and announced plans to challenge it at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Morocco’s federation, however, maintained the appeal was “never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams”, but to ensure the “application of the competition’s regulations”.
“The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions,” the statement said.
“It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the Afcon, which has been a major moment for African football.”
