CAS Rejects Guinea's Appeal, Confirms Tanzania's Qualification for AFCON Morocco 2025

Tanzania's qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals has been officially confirmed after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected an appeal filed by Guinea. Guinea had claimed it suffered injustice during the qualifiers and demanded a review of a crucial match result.

The Guinean Football Federation had accused Tanzania of fielding a player with a jersey number different from what was listed on the match sheet during a game on November 19 last year, a match that significantly determined qualification. The player in question was defender Mohamed Ibrahim Ammy, from Mbeya City FC, who entered the field wearing jersey number 26 instead of the officially registered number 24.

That encounter ended with Tanzania defeating Guinea 1-0 in Dar es Salaam, a victory that directly impacted the standings in Group H. Tanzania finished the qualifiers with ten points, behind group leaders DR Congo (12 points), and one point ahead of Guinea, whose tally stopped at nine points. Thus, Tanzania secured their qualification by finishing second.

Guinea had initially appealed to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which reviewed their complaint last December. CAF rejected it, stating that while it was "admissible in form," it was "unfounded in substance."

Following the failure of their appeal to the continental body, Guinea approached CAS seeking redress. However, the ruling issued on November 17 upheld CAF's decision, definitively closing the case.

With this legal resolution, Tanzania will participate in Group C of the AFCON 2025 finals, where they will face Nigeria, Tunisia, and Uganda in a battle for qualification to the knockout stages. Guinea, meanwhile, finds itself out of the tournament, officially bidding farewell to their dream of participating in the continental event to be held in Morocco.