Morocco’s new head coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, has congratulated his country following the Confederation of African Football (CAF)’s ruling to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco.
Senegal had initially won the final on 18 January in Rabat with a 1-0 victory. However, CAF ruled on Tuesday that the Senegalese players’ walk-off protest after Morocco were awarded a late second-half penalty justified the decision to hand the trophy to the Lions of Atlas. After being coaxed back onto the pitch by captain Sadio Mané, Senegal missed the penalty, and Morocco’s Pape Gueye scored in extra time to secure what is now recognized as the official result.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate all Moroccans, the staff, the players and the federation on the good news we got two days ago, which is well-deserved,” Ouahbi said during the announcement of his first squad for Morocco’s upcoming friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay.
The 49-year-old coach, who replaced Walid Regragui earlier this month, emphasized the need to focus on the future, adding: “My goal is to make the team competitive for the World Cup.”
The Moroccan Football Federation welcomed CAF’s ruling for its adherence to regulations, while the Senegalese Football Federation announced plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), calling the decision “unjust.”
Earlier in January, CAF had imposed disciplinary sanctions on both federations including fines of several hundred thousand euros for unsportsmanlike conduct, though the final result of the match was not originally questioned.
Morocco, under Regragui, reached the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and will compete in Group C at this year’s tournament alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.
