AFCON: Senegal President discusses tough times in Morocco

The president of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), Abdoulaye Fall has revealed how the West Africans toiled to reach the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and eventually win the trophy in Morocco.

The Lions of Teranga clinched their second African title after defeating hosts Morocco 1-0 in the final which was marred by controversy. At one point, Senegal threatened to walk away after Morocco had been awarded with only seconds left to the final whistle.

However, the penalty was saved and Senegal went ahead to win the game after Pape Gueye scored in extra time. Fall has now come out to explain the problems Senegal went through after reaching the final.

‘Other countries are afraid of Morocco’

“Morocco never thought they could lose this Africa Cup of Nations, especially after qualifying for the final. No country has ever opposed Morocco as much as Senegal did,” Fall told Wiwi-Sports as quoted by Flashscore.

“They (Morocco) control the CAF vice-presidency. They have the resources, and they control CAF. The other countries are afraid of Morocco. They’re afraid to take a stand against Morocco.

“We knew we would be in very good conditions in Tangier. We had everything we needed there. But we knew that by qualifying as group winners and reaching the final, we would have to play the final in Rabat. I predicted it would be against Morocco, and that’s exactly what happened.”

CAF convenes meeting on Wednesday

He added: “They gave us a hotel name 24 hours before our departure for Rabat. But Sow clearly told me that the national team would not be staying at that hotel. Yet all of Morocco’s other opponents agreed to stay there.

“But as soon as we saw the hotel, we knew we couldn’t stay there because, usually, it’s our youth teams who stay there.”

“It’s a hotel located in the city centre, where there’s noise pollution. Furthermore, they wanted to force us to train at their own base camp, the Mohammed VI Centre. When we received the notification, we simply refused to go and visit it.

“I’ve visited this camp several times. In Senegal, there isn’t a more modern camp than this one. The problem is that once you’re inside, you have no secrets. Everything you work on is known to your opponents.

“So why impose this camp on us for a final? We categorically refused.”

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have convened a meeting on Wednesday, January 28, to discuss what transpired during the final in Rabat.