{"id":126235,"date":"2026-03-20T06:49:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T05:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=126235"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:49:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T05:49:51","slug":"afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By: Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Senegal\u2019s African Cup of Nations triumph has sparked a major standoff after head coach Pape Thiaw moved the championship trophy to a military base amid a dispute with Morocco over the title.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sources report that the trophy is now under heavy guard at a secure military facility, with soldiers allowed to take photos with it, a symbolic move signaling Senegal\u2019s refusal to cede the award.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The relocation comes after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) controversially awarded Morocco a technical victory in the final, overturning Senegal\u2019s on-field win and naming the North African nation champions, a decision that has ignited outrage in Dakar.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cSenegal Coach took the AFCON to their military base today. It\u2019s now positioned in the centre of their military camp, protecting what rightfully belongs to them,\u201d Topskills Sports UK wrote on their X page.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Senegalese football authorities have rejected CAF\u2019s ruling and filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), insisting that the title was \u201cwon on merit\u201d and should not be decided administratively.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The dispute has drawn strong reactions from players and officials.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Captain Kalidou Koulibaly has publicly challenged CAF\u2019s decision, while officials within the Senegalese federation insist that surrendering the trophy before a final legal ruling would be premature.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Morocco has accepted the decision, with players and officials celebrating the ruling as confirmation of their championship status.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The controversy has also raised broader concerns about governance and consistency in African football, with analysts warning that the outcome could set a significant precedent for future tournaments.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">CAF president Patrice Motsepe has called for calm, promising transparency and fairness as the governing body faces growing scrutiny.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As Africa\u2019s premier football tournament, AFCON has gained global significance, making the dispute particularly sensitive for the continent\u2019s sporting reputation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0With the case now before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the final ownership of the trophy remains uncertain, leaving African football and its fans awaiting a decisive ruling in one of the tournament\u2019s most contentious controversies.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Oscar Okhifo Senegal\u2019s African Cup of Nations triumph has sparked a major standoff after head coach Pape Thiaw moved the championship trophy to a military base amid a dispute&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Oscar Okhifo Senegal\u2019s African Cup of Nations triumph has sparked a major standoff after head coach Pape Thiaw moved the championship trophy to a military base amid a dispute&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-20T05:49:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1120\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-20T05:49:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\"},\"wordCount\":354,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\",\"name\":\"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-20T05:49:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg\",\"width\":1120,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling - Pointblank News","og_description":"By: Oscar Okhifo Senegal\u2019s African Cup of Nations triumph has sparked a major standoff after head coach Pape Thiaw moved the championship trophy to a military base amid a dispute&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2026-03-20T05:49:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1120,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling","datePublished":"2026-03-20T05:49:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/"},"wordCount":354,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/","name":"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-03-20T05:49:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0c50e2db22a0a56b.jpeg","width":1120,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/afcon-controversy-senegal-moves-trophy-to-military-facility-after-caf-ruling\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AFCON Controversy: Senegal Moves Trophy to Military Facility After CAF Ruling"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126237,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126235\/revisions\/126237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}