The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has scheduled a hearing for October 8, 2026, to determine Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the controversial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final.
The hearing, which will take place at CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, will involve the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).
Senegal is challenging CAF’s decision to declare the Teranga Lions as having forfeited the AFCON 2025 final and awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory.
Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match that was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.
Following a delay of about 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.
In its appeal, filed on March 25, 2026, the Senegal Federation is seeking to have the decision overturned and to be declared champions of the tournament.
Later, the result was overturned after a decision by an appeal board at African football’s governing body.
A statement from Caf said Senegal had been “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.
CAS confirmed that the case will proceed under its standard procedures after the parties did not agree to an expedited process.
Following consultations, they also agreed that the hearing would be held behind closed doors.
The arbitration panel will begin deliberations after the hearing, although CAS said no final ruling will be delivered on the same day and did not indicate when a verdict is expected.
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