African football: Morocco at the center of decisive CAF debates in Tanzania

The governing body of African football is holding a critical session in Tanzania in an attempt to dispel the unease born of the recent final of the Africa Cup of Nations between Morocco and Senegal. The refereeing controversies and the disciplinary sanctions that followed this match have created deep divisions within the institution. The agenda includes a "global evaluation" of the competition, from logistical aspects to the urgent revision of the level of the refereeing commission, whose performance has been strongly contested.

Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, is an unavoidable figure at this meeting and is expected to be in the hot seat on several strategic issues. The Moroccan leader will speak to discuss the disciplinary regulations, but above all to clarify the Kingdom’s position on the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Rabat is now openly calling for a postponement of the competition, a request that Lekjaa will have to justify to his peers.

The meeting, however, opens against a backdrop of internal unrest, with the confirmed absence of at least six members of the Executive Committee. Several influential figures, including the Algerian Walid Sadi and the Egyptian Hany Abou Rida, will not be making the trip, preferring to intervene by videoconference. These remote interventions promise to be incisive, particularly concerning the grievances about refereeing and the management of sanctions, further isolating the current leadership.