Lausanne, Switzerland – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on Wednesday that it has accepted the appeal filed by the Senegalese Football Federation against the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.
The court confirmed that the Senegalese Football Federation had officially appealed the decision, demanding that CAF’s ruling be overturned and the title reinstated to Senegal as the rightful winner. The appeal was registered on March 25, 2026, with the Senegalese Federation requesting that it be vindicated and declared the champion.
CAS explained in an official statement:”The court received an appeal from the Senegalese Federation against the African Union and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, concerning a decision issued by CAF on March 17, 2026, in which it declared the Senegalese national team to have lost the final of the tournament in Morocco by withdrawal, and awarded the victory to the Moroccan national team with a score of 3-0″.
The statement added: “The Senegalese Football Federation filed a formal appeal with the Court on March 25, 2026, requesting the annulment of the decision and the declaration of Senegal as champions. It also requested a temporary stay of proceedings pending the provision of the full reasons for CAF’s decision”.
The court noted that the decision issued by CAF was limited to the ruling of its appeals body, indicating that an independent arbitration panel will be formed within CAS to decide on this case, and that a timetable for the next procedures will be determined later.
According to the court rules, the appellant has twenty days to submit the appeal memorandum containing his legal arguments, followed by twenty days for the defendants to submit their responses and defenses.
At this stage, and due to Senegal’s request to suspend the proceedings, no deadlines or hearing date have yet been set.
For his part, Mr. Matthew Reeb, Chief Executive of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, said: “Our court is fully equipped to handle this type of dispute, with the help of independent and specialized arbitrators. We understand the desire of teams and fans to know the final decision as quickly as possible, and we will ensure that the arbitration takes place as quickly as possible, while respecting the right of all parties to a fair trial.”
