Senegal has lodged an official protest with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), strongly opposing the decision to include Tunisia in the upcoming U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), citing a breach of regulations and a threat to sporting integrity.
In a letter dated 11 April 2025 and addressed to CAF Secretary General Véron Mosengo-Omba, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) expressed outrage over Tunisia’s participation in the tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Egypt from 26 April to 18 May.
Tunisia was added to the final draw despite not qualifying through the zonal preliminaries nor being designated as a host nation.
The FSF argues that this inclusion undermines the fundamental principles of the competition. “Such a measure would be in flagrant violation of the sacrosanct principles that govern competitions: ethics, sporting fairness, equality between federations,” the federation stated in its letter. It added that Tunisia’s presence in the tournament constitutes a “flagrant violation of the statutes and regulations of CAF.”
Senegal, one of the teams that qualified through on-pitch performance, raised serious concerns about the impact of this decision on the legitimacy of the tournament, particularly as the U20 AFCON serves as a qualifying event for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
“Such a decision would break the equality with the other qualified national teams, but above all would seriously harm the teams that have sportingly and legitimately earned on the pitch the right to participate in this CAN,” the FSF warned.
The federation did not rule out escalating the matter, threatening to take further legal steps should CAF uphold Tunisia’s inclusion.
“Our Federation reserves the right to refer the matter to the competent FIFA authorities or the Arbitration Court to ensure that the principles of ethics and fair play are upheld in all circumstances,” the letter read.
Senegal also called for the matter to be placed on the agenda of the upcoming CAF Executive Committee meeting, set for 26 April in Accra, Ghana.
The FSF emphasized its “total opposition to any change in the number of participants in the U20 CAN with the aim of satisfying the unfounded and illegitimate request of an unqualified national association.”
The letter was issued two days before the second official draw for the tournament, during which Tunisia was unexpectedly included in the list of participants — a move that has reignited questions over transparency and governance within African football’s governing body.
