By our reporter 29.3.2026
Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said Sunday he would be visiting Senegal and Morocco in a bid to douse the apprehension the Africa Cup of Nations dispute has generated.
The continental soccer ruling body has been in turmoil, following its Appeal Board ruling stripping Senegal of the 2025 AFCON title they won after they beat hosts, Morocco in a controversial final in Rabat.
Motsepe did not give a date for his mission but stressed the importance of “working together to grow African football.”
“We support you. We are all Africans. I said the same message to Moroccans. Many Senegalese people live in Morocco; we are not going to use football to divide people. It must bring people together.”
The CAF president said he would “respect” the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision on Senegal’s appeal against being stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title.
“I will respect and implement the CAS decision. My personal opinion regarding the matter is irrelevant,”
Motsepe stressed that the appeal board consists of independent judges and lawyers.
CAF had instructed Senegal to return the AFCON trophy but they responded Saturday during friendly against Peru
in Paris by parading the trophy to the cheers of their fans.
In a statement CAF said it “is implementing changes and improvements to their statutes and regulations that will strengthen trust and confidence in (African) referees, VAR operators and judicial bodies.
“These changes and improvements to the statutes and regulations will also ensure that the incidents that took place at the final… do not happen again.”