The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Guinea’s attempt to challenge Tanzania’s qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025) after a dispute over a shirt number irregularity.
The controversy started after Tanzania defeated Guinea 1-0 in their AFCON qualifier on 19 November 2024.
During the match, one Tanzanian player entered the pitch wearing the number 26 shirt, even though the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) had registered him as number 24 for the game.
Guinea immediately filed a protest and argued that Tanzania gained an unfair tactical advantage through the discrepancy.
The Guinean federation demanded a forfeit victory.
FEGUIFOOT first took the case to the CAF Appeal Board, which dismissed their claim on 11 June 2025.
The Guinean federation then elevated the case to CAS, where they asked for a 3-0 forfeit in their favour or, as another option, Tanzania’s removal from AFCON 2025 so Guinea could take their place.
CAS held an in-person hearing in Lausanne on 17 November 2025.
After examining the evidence and hearing both sides, the CAS Panel unanimously rejected the Guinean appeal and upheld the CAF ruling.
The decision keeps Tanzania in AFCON 2025, which begins on 21 December 2025.
CAS confirmed that the ruling takes immediate effect. The Panel will publish detailed reasoning on its website unless one of the parties requests confidentiality.
This verdict ends Guinea’s efforts to overturn the result and allows Tanzania to continue their preparations for the continental tournament without interruption.
