Questions arise over what happens to Senegal’s prizes after having AFCON title stripped

The crisis surrounding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final is taking a more complicated turn, with increasing uncertainty surrounding the fate of the prizes awarded to the Senegalese national team. This follows the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to strip Senegal of the title and award it to Morocco in a controversial appeal.

The Senegalese team had won the final, held on January 18th at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, with a 1-0 victory. They received the medals and celebrated with the gold trophy before the CAF Appeals Committee overturned the decision, declaring them the losers due to their withdrawal and awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory, based on tournament regulations.

AFCON reality hits hard

Despite the continental ruling, the championship trophy remains in the possession of the Senegalese Football Federation, which is currently refusing to return it, preferring to await the final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

The Senegalese Football Federation is treating the matter as legally open, which explains why they are still keeping the trophy, which toured several cities across the country amidst public celebrations of the title.

The possibility of the trophy being displayed abroad also remains, given previous plans to showcase it during the upcoming match against Peru in Paris on March 28, the team’s first appearance since the final.

Gold medals

The fate of the medals awarded to the players and coaching staff after the victory are also up for debate. It is estimated that demanding their return from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is difficult due to the legal and symbolic complexities surrounding such a move.

Financially, the winning bonus is at the forefront, after confirmations that CAF has already transferred $10 million to the Senegalese Football Federation’s account.

Despite the decision to withdraw the title, there are no indications that the money will be returned at this time, as the Senegalese side insists on awaiting the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision before taking any official action.

Between a binding continental decision and anticipated legal action, all matters—from the cup to the prize money—remain pending, awaiting the outcome of the CAS hearing in one of the most complex cases in the history of AFCON.

Featured image via the Canary