Afcon final to play out in court – when will Morocco or Senegal be crowned champions?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to rule on the decision to strip Senegal of their Afcon 2025 title. But fans should not expect an immediate verdict. Sadio Mane was named best player at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after helping his team to what he thought at the time was a second title Everyone knows a football match should take 90 minutes but, in its own way, the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) has been playing out for nearly nine months. Now, finally, one team or the other – either Morocco or Senegal – willl grab the winner. Only that moment of glory will come in a courtroom, not on the pitch.

On Thursday, Sport's highest legal authority – the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) – will hear Senegal's appeal against the decision to strip them of the title they thought they had won back in January against the hosts in Rabat. But those hungry for a resolution have already been warned it will not arrive on the same day. So how did we get here? And what happens next? In front of 66,000 home fans creating an electric atmosphere inside Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Morocco appeared set for a date with destiny as they chased their first Afcon title