Sunday, November 15, 2026

CAF announces commencement of regulatory changes after 2025 AFCON final chaos 

Motsepe noted that CAF has engaged football lawyers and experts for legal advice on implementing best football practices in Africa.

• March 29, 2026
CAF
CAF

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Sunday announced that it has begun implementing changes to its statutes and regulations to prevent future occurrences of the incidents that marred the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Morocco. 

The body said in a statement that the new changes will focus on rekindling public trust in African referees, VAR operators, the CAF Disciplinary Board, and the Appeal Board amid fallout from the 2025 AFCON final, which has led to the ongoing legal tussle between Morocco and Senegal over the AFCON title. 

“CAF is currently implementing far-reaching changes and improvements to the CAF Statutes and Regulations, which will strengthen the trust and confidence in CAF referees, VAR operators, match commissioners and in the CAF Disciplinary Board and Appeal Board. 

“These changes and improvements to the CAF Statutes and Regulations will also ensure that the unacceptable incidents that took place at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 do not happen again,” CAF president Patrice Motsepe said after the body’s congress meeting in Egypt on Sunday.

Speaking further, Motsepe noted that CAF has engaged football lawyers and experts for legal advice on implementing best football practices in Africa. 

He stressed the process is important for the integrity of every aspect of the game on the continent. 

“CAF has taken extensive legal advice from top African and international football lawyers and experts, to ensure that the CAF statutes and regulations adhere to and implement global football best practices, on and off the field. This is important for the respect, integrity and credibility of African referees, VAR operators and the CAF Disciplinary Board and Appeal Board.

“CAF is working with FIFA for the ongoing training of African referees, VAR operators and match commissioners so that they are as good as the best in the world. 

“We must also professionalise African referees and VAR operators and pay them well.  CAF has made significant progress over the past 5 years in implementing governance, ethics, transparency and managerial best practices,” Motsepe stated. 

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Nigerian Bar Association

States

Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future

The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

blackout

Abuja

TCN announces 16-hour power outage in parts of Abuja, Niger

TCN said the interruption would occur between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on each of the two days.

Kedreyon Williams

Heading 5

Ex-police officer to be castrated for child sex abuse in Louisiana

District Judge Kevin Kimball sentenced Mr Williams to three life terms in prison and ruled that he would be castrated.

Peter Obi

Politics

Obi ​‌⁠​‍‍⁠⁠‍‍‌⁠​‌‌⁠‌‌​is incorruptible, says Kwankwaso

Mr Kwankwaso said the attribute is key and needed in the governance of the nation.

Yakubu Lado- Danmarke

Politics

Katsina ​‌⁠​‍‍⁠⁠‍‍‌‍⁠‍⁠‍​‌​PDP guber candidate pledges to end unemployment

The candidate said that if elected, he would prioritise policies that would enable young people to secure employment.

Rescued children

States

Zamfara: Abducted children, women rescued after 22 days in bandits’ den

Mr Abubakar said the police, the State Security Service and local hunters swiftly mobilised and carried out a well-coordinated rescue operation.