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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rolled out new rules after the controversy that surrounded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final held in Morocco.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe confirmed on May 13 that problems linked to officiating and match control contributed to the confusion that ended the tournament’s final match.

The final in Rabat originally ended with Senegal being named champions after a 1-0 victory in extra time. However, the decision was later reversed after an appeal process, which awarded the title to Morocco following disciplinary actions tied to Senegal’s protest walk-off after a late VAR penalty decision.

The match also attracted heavy criticism due to security issues inside the stadium and accusations of misconduct, including the “towelgate” incident involving Senegal’s goalkeeper and match assistants.

Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, Motsepe said CAF had already carried out a full internal review of what happened.

“We’ve done good work in terms of building the confidence and the trust amongst the football community of our referees and of our VAR,” he said.

He admitted that the organisation still faced challenges and said lessons had been learned from the problems in Morocco.

“But there are still these challenges, and we’ve recognised what the deficiencies were that led to the unfortunate incidents we had in Morocco.

“We’ve introduced new laws, new regulations which will ensure that doesn’t happen again.”

Motsepe also explained that CAF is still working to improve refereeing quality and VAR consistency across African competitions.

“We are continuing to improve the system, because African football must be judged by the highest standards of fairness and integrity,” he said.

The Senegal Football Federation has described the final decision as a “robbery” and has taken the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where a final ruling is still being awaited.

“We are waiting for the judgment of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and African football is continuing to grow and develop,” Motsepe said. “Whatever decision comes, we will respect and implement.”

CAF added that the new reforms will focus on better VAR management, stronger security coordination, and clearer disciplinary rules to avoid a repeat of the controversy.

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Nigeria’s Falconets have been placed in Pot 2 ahead of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup draw.

The event is scheduled to hold at the EC1 Cultural Centre on Friday.

The Falconets are among the four African countries that will participate in the biennial competition.

Ghana women’s national under-20 football team, Tanzania women’s national under-20 football team, and Benin women’s national under-20 football team are the other African representatives.

Moses Aduku’s side booked a spot at Poland 2026 after edging past the Young Scorchers of Malawi 3-2 on aggregate.

United States women’s national under-20 soccer team, Colombia women’s national under-20 football team, Mexico women’s national under-20 football team, Canada women’s national under-20 soccer team, and New Zealand women’s national under-20 football team are also in Pot 2.

The Falconets will be making their 15th appearance at the competition.

The tournament will run from September 5 to September 27, 2026.

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Manchester City kept pace with Arsenal in the Premier League title race, with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Following Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 victory at West Ham last weekend, City came into the game five points behind the Gunners.

Although Pep Guardiola made six changes to his starting XI for this game, they still dominated the visitors.

Phil Foden was especially in fine form, as he laid on the assists for Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush to score before half time.

Savinho added a late third, as City went two points behind Arsenal.

Both teams have two matches left to play.

Arsenal play next against Burnley on Monday night, while City are away to Bournemouth on Tuesday.