African football is waiting on three answers at once. In Lausanne, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is preparing its ruling on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title. In Cape Verde, CAF has opened the door to a U-turn on the schedule of its flagship tournament. And with the FIFA presidential election on the horizon, the continent has once again closed ranks behind Gianni Infantino.
The most explosive case remains the Morocco-Senegal final. On Thursday, October 8, CAS spent more than five hours hearing the Senegalese federation, its Moroccan counterpart and CAF. The court’s director general, Mathieu Reeb, said he understood how impatient fans in both countries were. CAS now promises a decision within days.
The dispute goes back to the closing stages of the final in Rabat. After Morocco were awarded a penalty, several Senegalese players walked off the pitch in protest, before returning, notably at Sadio Mané’s urging. The Lions of Teranga went on to win 1-0 after extra time thanks to a goal from Pape Guèye. CAF’s disciplinary board initially punished certain conduct without changing the score. The Moroccan federation appealed, and on March 17 the appeal board turned everything upside down: ruling that the Senegalese walk-off breached Article 82 of the tournament regulations, it applied Article 84 and declared a 3-0 forfeit defeat.
Dakar reacted furiously. The Senegalese government called the decision illegal and unjust and demanded an international investigation into suspected corruption within CAF’s leadership. The Senegalese federation’s appeal was registered by CAS on March 25. It seeks to overturn the ruling and restore Senegal as champions. Until the verdict, Morocco officially keeps the title.
In another sensitive matter, the tournament’s rhythm may not change after all. Last December, Patrice Motsepe announced that from 2028 the AFCON would be held every four years instead of every two, to fit FIFA’s international calendar. The move went down badly with parts of African football, who saw it as serving European interests. On Friday, the final day of CAF’s strategy conference, the South African flatly rejected claims that his organisation takes orders from FIFA or UEFA. He revealed that officials had discussed in recent days a possible return to a tournament every two years.
Motsepe also confirmed that AFCON 2027 will go ahead in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, despite French media reports of construction delays. “You have to believe in Africa,” he said, invoking the legacy of Nelson Mandela.
The day before, at the same meeting on the island of Sal, he announced that all 54 African federations unanimously back Gianni Infantino in the FIFA presidential election due in March 2027. The endorsement is not new: it had already been made official on April 29 in Vancouver, on the eve of FIFA’s 76th Congress, for the 2027-2031 term. Attending the gathering in Cape Verde, the Swiss official reminded these valuable voters of the investments FIFA has made in African football since he took office ten years ago.