Claim: The Guinea Football Federation has officially written to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) demanding a review of the 1976 AFCON final with Morocco.
Verdict: False! All the websites making the claim have provided no credible evidence to support it, and the Guinean Football Federation has also debunked it as false.
Full Text
The CAF Appeals Board’s recent decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco, due to Senegalese players briefly walking off the pitch in protest during the final, has sparked global reactions. Most of the debates around the decision have been around the consistency of CAF’s disciplinary standards.
Former president of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, in a recent article, described the ruling as “inconsistent with CAF Regulations.” Other leading voices in sports, such as former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, coaches Hugo Broos, and Claude Le Roy, have also challenged the decision.
However, the charged atmosphere around the ruling has created a conducive environment for the circulation of false information. A new claim recently circulating on social media platforms and some popular news websites across Africa alleges that Guinea Football Federation had officially written to CAF to demand a re-examination of the 1976 AFCON final, in which Morocco was also crowned champions following a controversial incident in which Moroccan players briefly walked off the pitch, a situation that strikingly mirrors the events that cost Senegal the 2025 title.
Several news outlets, including this and this in Ghana, this and this in Nigeria, and elsewhere, such as this, this, and this, have amplified the claim.
Across social media, the claim is also widespread. On Facebook, outlets such as this, this, this, and this have also further amplified the claim, receiving hundreds of thousands of reactions.
Reactions to most of the posts show that many people believe the claim. This is despite the fact that none of the publications provided a primary source, including an official statement or a reference to an official confirming the action.
Given how widely the claim has travelled and the potential diplomatic tension and unhealthy rivalry it may create if left unchecked, DUBAWA investigated.
Verification
DUBAWA first contacted two journalists based in Guinea: Nouhou Baldé, the founder of news website guineematin.com, and Elhaj Boubacar Bah of guinee360.com on Saturday, March 21, 2026, to verify the claim, but both journalists denied knowledge of any such official action.
At the time, no official statement or information confirming the claim was available on the Guinea Football Federation’s website or their Facebook page. DUBAWA, therefore, sent an email to the federation requesting verification of the claim.
Even though our mail was not officially responded to, on Sunday, March 22, 2026, the Guinea Football Federation issued a statement denying the claim. The federation said the claim was without basis.
Official statement from the Guinea Football Federation
Excerpts of the statement translated with Google Translate reads:
“The Guinean Football Federation (FGF) wishes to inform the national and international public that it has initiated no proceedings—neither before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) nor before the Confederation of African Football (CAF)—in connection with the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations…. The Guinean Football Federation wishes to clarify—in a spirit of responsibility and to help restore calm—that these reports are inaccurate and entirely without official basis…. The Guinean Football Federation reaffirms its unwavering commitment to upholding historical facts and respecting sporting regulations. It calls upon the media and all stakeholders—in a spirit of calm and responsibility—to prioritize verified information and to avoid any [speculation].
We note that the claim was fabricated, capitalising on the heightened emotions around the CAF Appeals Board’s recent decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it instead to Morocco.
Conclusion
Based on the above statement, the claim that the Guinea Football Federation has officially written to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) demanding a review of the 1976 AFCON game against Morocco is false.
