Men's AFCON 2025 Bizarre Twist

When I did a report on AFCON 2025 I mentioned the final had some bizarre moments, without elaborating. Highlights of the game by CAF are sanitised, restricted to areas that I'm excluded from or such poor quality. I'll try to piece what happened together.

In regular time late in the second half, Senegal had a goal disallowed for a foul in the build up. The game ends 0-0. I found the extra time timelines vague. Sometime in extra time, Morocco were awarded a penalty and the Senegal players walked off the pitch in protest. The game was help up for at least 15 minutes until the Senegalese players returned. The penalty kick was taken and not scored. 

Senegal went on to score a goal and win the tournament. Morocco felt the walk off should have ended the match and it be awarded to them and lodged an appeal. It finally came, back in Morocco's favour and they were awarded the game 3-0. Now Senegal is going to appeal that decision.

This whole thing could have been handled differently. I thought that the referee should have gone to the Senegal camp and said if all the players aren't back in five minutes and in their places for the penalty, you will forfeit the game.  

The referee is the final arbiter and if he handled it poorly, so be it. By allowing the walkoff not to be punished at the time, that was his call. I don't agree with it, but that should stand. By making a retrospective decision, this could establish a precedent for other games having decisions overturned after the match is concluded. 

The referee was weak and CAFs belated ruling makes the game in Africa look poorly run. Senegal should be the winners despite their petulant behaviour because the referee didn't act against it at the time. What a farce but then again, it is Africa we're talking here. 

The Corner Kick

Once upon a time, players stood in the 18 yard box and waited for the ball to be crossed before moving. Somewhere along the line, it was decided that an advantage could be achieved by jostling, pushing, pulling and obstructing opponents. The calm has been replaced by the chaotic.  

Is there an easy fix? Some suggest harsh penalties for offenders but I don't think that is the answer. Determining when a defender has gone too far in trying to put an attacking player off is difficult, because it can be slyly done. What about an attacker standing right in front of the goalie? At what point has he got too close. Again, open to interpretation. 

One possibility is having all players outside the 18 yard box until the kick is taken. Once the ball is kicked, say four from each team are allowed to run into the box and contest for the ball. Only when the ball is cleared out of the box is the minimum player restriction lifted. 

It sounds simple and would make it easier for officials to police a smaller number of players. There could still be rules around players pushing or obstructing unfairly, but that probably wouldn't be a major issue. 

AFCON 1968-2025

The 30th tournament (that I count and show in the second chart) has concluded. The biennial event is changing. After the 2027 tournament, it will be held in 2028 and thereafter every four years. 

The 2025 results are immediately below. Senegal won its second tournament, in the process denying Morocco its second. The final had some bizarre moments. 

Points are allocated for each participating country. The weighting of points favours success but any participation gets some recognition. 

Nigeria leads the way, not in the number of titles but through overall points, which total 193. That's an average of 9.7 points for each tournament it has been involved in. Now for some detail.

More than one title: Egypt, Cameroon (5). Ivory Coast, Nigeria (3). Algeria, DR Congo, Ghana, Senegal (2). Those with one title number 7. 14 Different winners in all.

Origin: It started in 1957 but switched to a biannual format in 1968 and that was the first year eight nations took part. That is where this data starts. 

Regions: At the base of the chart, the countries listed are put into regions. In reality, there is no perfect way of doing it but that didn't stop me from trying. West Africa is the most successful region, from Northern Africa and Central Africa.