Senegal Stripped of AFCON Title, Morocco Declared Winners

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially removed Senegal as the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions and awarded the title to Morocco.

The decision follows a dramatic incident during the final match played in January at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Originally, Senegal had celebrated a 1-0 victory, but CAF later ruled that the team had forfeited the match. The final result was officially recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco.

The controversy unfolded in the closing moments of the match when Morocco was awarded a penalty. Senegal’s players disagreed with the decision and temporarily walked off the pitch, halting the game for almost 20 minutes. At the same time, some Senegalese supporters attempted to invade the field, adding to the tension.

When play resumed, Morocco’s Brahim Díaz missed the penalty. The match went into extra time, and Pape Gueye scored what appeared to be the winning goal for Senegal.

CAF later reviewed the events and determined that Senegal’s walk-off violated the competition rules, leading to the decision to award the match — and the AFCON 2026 title — to Morocco.

In a statement, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation clarified that their complaint was not meant to challenge the teams’ performances, but to ensure the official competition rules were correctly applied.

With this ruling, Morocco is now officially crowned AFCON 2026 champions, while Senegal loses the trophy they had celebrated on the pitch.