African football leader abandons ship during Afcon fallout

This article appeared as part of the Daily Sensemaker newsletter – one story a day to make sense of the world. To receive it in your inbox, featuring content exclusive to the newsletter, sign up for free here.

The general secretary of the African football federation has retired, he says, “with peace of mind and without constraint”. What Veron Mosengo-Omba didn’t reference directly is the ongoing fallout over the decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title. This decision was made two months after the final, following an appeal from Morocco. Senegal’s players left the field at 0-0 to protest a penalty before returning and going on to win the game. Senegal is now challenging the overturned decision, which appeared to fly in the face of the laws of the game, and paraded the trophy this weekend. Mosengo-Omba was under mounting pressure to step down after passing the compulsory retirement age for the footballing body. Having done so, he will no longer have to deal with Senegal’s appeal or the delayed women’s Afcon.