Morocco Loses Appeal To Reclaim AFCON Prize Money and Medals

— Morocco and Senegal teams during AFCON 25 tournament

By Cyril Kingsley

Morocco’s demand for prize money and the return of medals was not accepted.
The ruling was not overturned, the controversy continued, but the conclusion stood.

The appeal result related to the Africa Cup of Nations, saying Morocco’s requests were all dismissed.

The issue was clear. It was whether the 2025 tournament winner’s prize money and individual players’ medals would be returned.

The result is simple. The existing judgment was upheld even in the appeals court that “dismissed” the case. The course did not change.
The position of the Senegal football federation was also confirmed. Attorney Sédou Diagne said,
“Both of Morocco’s requests, namely the return of the winner’s prize money and the return of individual medals, were not accepted.” All the key issues were rejected in the same way.
This case is not a simple financial matter.

It is connected to the tournament’s results and legitimacy, and to subsequent administrative handling. Morocco has challenged the existing rulings and results and has maintained a hard line.

In particular, the demand for the return of prize money carried great symbolism. It was not simply about reclaiming an amount; it touched on overturning the result itself. The return of individual medals was in the same vein. It is a measure that affects players personally.

But the appeals court’s ruling was clear. It concluded in a direction that upheld the existing decision. In other words, the tournament result and the resulting compensation structure were acknowledged as they were.
With this, the controversy seems to be drawing to a close for now. At least in administrative judgment, there are no more variables. Morocco’s further responses remain possible, but a practical reversal is a structure that is not easy.

What remains, in the end, is interpretation. Morocco challenged the procedure and the legitimacy of the ruling, and Senegal emphasized the validity of the result. And this ruling sided with the latter.

Although it was a dispute that took place outside the realm of football, the repercussions were large. The tournament’s authority, the federation’s judgment, and the irreversibility of the result were all put to the test.