Senegal’s defiance over the Confederation of African Football’s controversial decision to strip them of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title has taken a dramatic and unprecedented turn, with head coach Pape Thiaw reportedly moving the AFCON trophy to a military base where it is now under armed guard.
Photographs and reports circulating on social media showed soldiers at the facility posing with the silverware, which has been placed at the centre of the military camp under the watch of armed personnel — a bold symbolic statement from a nation that refuses to relinquish what it insists is rightfully its title.
“Senegal Coach took the AFCON to their military base today. It’s now positioned in the centre of their military camp — protecting what rightfully belongs to them,” sports platform Topskills Sports UK wrote on its X page.
The extraordinary move comes in the wake of CAF’s post-final ruling declaring Morocco the winners of the 2025 AFCON tournament, a decision that followed Senegal’s walkout during the final and triggered a firestorm of controversy across the continent.
Senegalese football authorities have flatly rejected the ruling, filing an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and maintaining that their title was “won on merit” and cannot be undone through an administrative decree. Morocco, meanwhile, have embraced CAF’s verdict with open arms, with players and officials celebrating the decision as the definitive confirmation of their championship.
With the trophy now under military protection in Dakar and a CAS appeal in motion, the battle over African football’s most coveted prize has escalated well beyond the pitch — and a resolution appears anything but imminent.
BREAKING: Senegal Coach took the AFCON to their military base today..
It’s now positioned in the centre of their military camp.
Protecting what rightfully belongs to them…
pic.twitter.com/z2pbzxuGEw— Topskills Sports UK (@topskillsportuk) March 19, 2026
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