The dispute surrounding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final moved forward on Thursday, 8 October, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) heard Senegal’s appeal against the decision that handed the title to Morocco.
The hearing took place behind closed doors in Lausanne, Switzerland. Senegal Football Federation is challenging the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ruling which declared Senegal’s team forfeited the final and recorded a 3-0 victory for Morocco.
Proceedings ended in the afternoon after several hours. The three-member arbitration panel will now deliberate before issuing its ruling.
CAS said no decision would be announced on Thursday. Its verdict could be delivered in the coming days or weeks.
Senegal Football Federation secretary general Abdoulaye Seydou Sow said he was confident after the hearing, although he gave few details about the arguments presented.
“Our lawyers presented our submissions, put forward all our observations and were heard by the arbitration panel,” he said.
Sow added that Senegal had “defended itself well”.
There was no comment from the Moroccan side after the hearing.
The final, played in Rabat on 18 January 2026, had originally ended with Senegal winning 1-0 after extra time.
However, on 17 March, CAF declared Senegal’s team forfeited and officially recorded the match as a 3-0 victory for Morocco. Senegal Football Federation subsequently took the case to CAS in an attempt to overturn that decision.