Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Africa Brief.

The highlights this week: The decision to strip Senegal of its Africa Cup of Nations title sparks controversy across the continent and beyond, Chadian President Mahamat Déby threatens retaliation after a deadly cross-border drone strike from Sudan, and South Africa imposes high tariffs on structural steel imports from China.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Africa Brief.

The highlights this week: The decision to strip Senegal of its Africa Cup of Nations title sparks controversy across the continent and beyond, Chadian President Mahamat Déby threatens retaliation after a deadly cross-border drone strike from Sudan, and South Africa imposes high tariffs on structural steel imports from China.

The fallout from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decision to strip Senegal of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and award it to Morocco two months later continues to reverberate across Africa. Analysts worldwide fear that the ruling may set a precedent where trophies in international soccer can be “won in the boardroom.”

Senegal initially won the Jan. 18 final 1-0 in extra time. But on March 17, CAF’s appeal board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match when its players temporarily stormed off the pitch in protest after a Senegalese goal was overturned and a late penalty was awarded to Morocco. The ruling also awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory.

Senegal, for its part, has signaled an unwillingness to return the trophy. “The cup will not leave the country,” Abdoulaye Sow, the head of the Senegalese Football Federation, told Senegalese newspaper Le Soleil. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye posted a photo of himself on Facebook last week with the trophy prominently displayed on a shelf behind him.

While CAF has officially changed the records, Senegal’s government has appealed what it described as a “grossly illegal and profoundly unjust” ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. There are still unanswered questions about what will happen to the medals handed to Senegalese players in January and the tournament prize money of $10 million.

Globally, soccer players and officials have denounced the decision, which has further entrenched a perception of corruption within CAF that worsened amid multiple financial scandals in recent years.

Many African soccer fans believe that Morocco holds significant financial and political influence within the football governing body. In particular, Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation,........

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