A surprise visit from the President of the African Union to Senegal after it was stripped of its continental title

South African Patrice Motsepe, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will visit Dakar on Wednesday, nearly a month after the decision to strip Senegal of the African Nations title in favor of Morocco, the host country, which sparked widespread anger and discontent throughout the country.
Motsepe had announced at the end of March that he would visit Senegal and Morocco in order to emphasize the importance of “working together to develop African football,” despite his institution facing many criticisms.
Motsepe arrived on Tuesday night to Wednesday at Blaise Diagne International Airport, near Dakar, where he was received by Abdoulaye Fall, president of the Senegalese Football Federation.
According to a statement issued by the Continental Confederation, Motsepe will visit the beginning of Goree Island, with its strong historical and memorial past, a symbol of the slave trade, which is located opposite the Senegalese capital.
His visit comes within a tense atmosphere since CAF decided to strip Senegal of its title in favor of Morocco after a chaotic final that ended with a 1-0 victory for the Teranga Lions after extra time in January in Rabat.
Before the final whistle, a number of Senegal players left the field for fifteen minutes after the referee awarded a penalty kick to Morocco in stoppage time, shortly after a Senegal goal was disallowed. The “Atlas Lions” missed the penalty kick taken by Brahim Diaz, before Senegal scored the winning goal in extra time.
On March 17, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Committee announced that Senegal had “withdrew from the final match”, confirming that Morocco had won 3-0.
The Senegalese Federation appealed the decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which will issue its ruling on a date that has not yet been determined.
The African Union’s decision sparked angry reactions in Senegal, where the government called, in a statement issued on March 18, for an international investigation into “suspicions of corruption within the administrative bodies” of the African Union.
The acceleration of matters prompted Motsepe to declare that there was no “preferential” treatment for any African country, praising the “independence” of its disciplinary bodies.