Researched by Alfa Shaban
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) via a statement dated March 17, 2026, stripped Senegal of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and handed it to Morocco, after an Appeal Board upheld Morocco’s petition.
Days later, multiple claims about the controversial decision went viral on social media platforms, including X, Facebook and TikTok. FactSpace West Africa’s monitoring found that some local and international news portals carried some of the viral claims.
In this report, we fact-checked whether Senegal had sent the trophy to a military base to be guarded amid calls for its return to CAF. We investigate a supposed petition by the Guinean Football Federation demanding CAF reviews the 1976 final they lost to Morocco because the Moroccans had also deserted the game at one point.
The third viral claim was that the Moroccan captain and PSG star, Achraf Hakimi, said he was not interested in being called a champion because matches are won on the pitch, where Morocco lost.
FactSpace West Africa fact-checked each of the claims and found each to be FALSE.
You can read the full report here: “CAF’s AFCON 2025 ruling triggers ‘fake news’ – Verifying Senegal’s trophy with soldiers video, Hakimi’s rejection and Guinea petition“
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