AFCON
CAF braces up to handle Eriksen-like collapse at Afcon
Last weekend’s collapse of Denmark player, Chirstian Eriksen has further pointed to the necessity of sports medicine at sporting arena.
According to BBC, Ghanaian sports medicine expert Dr Prince Pambo is confident that a collapse like Christian Eriksen’s could be dealt with similarly at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Dr Pambo, who is a member of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) medical expert group, however remains concerned about whether the measures in place for local league matches are adequate to deal with such emergencies.
In shocking scenes last Saturday Denmark’s Eriksen suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in the middle of a Euro 2020 tie against Finland, his life was saved thanks to the swift actions of his team-mates and medical staff.
“I can confidently tell you that if this happened at any of our venues during an AFCON – we would have been able to give the same level of care that Eriksen got in Denmark,” Dr Pambo told BBC Sport Africa.
“The simple reason being that CAF has a group of experts in the medical committee – made up of sports physicians and emergency medical personnel and during AFCON such doctors are deployed to all the venues.
“Normally you go two weeks ahead of the tournament and you inspect all the medical infrastructure available at each venue. There are times when you conduct training for all the paramedics who will be present there.
“You also take into consideration the distance between the stadium and the closest hospital and you also go and have interaction with the emergency medical team at the hospital.
“Every venue is always going to be equipped with a number of AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) – so I can assure you that if this happened during an AFCON he would have had the same level of care.”
AEDs or Automated External Defibrillators are portable electronic devices that automatically diagnoses life-threatening cardiac problems and can treat them through defibrillation, the application of electricity to re-establish an effective heart rhythm.
The doctor led CAF’s medical team in Suez during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and has also worked at many African Champions League and Confederation Cup Matches as well as other continental tournaments.
He is also a medical consultant for the Basketball Africa League.
Dr Pambo said that work still needs to be done in local leagues around the continent and that this is something he is doing his best to address in Ghana.
“The key thing you need is your own brain as a human being to know what to do and that is how to do basic CPR,” he pointed out.
“Just a week before the Eriksen incident I was teaching students on Zoom – the Ghana Football Association and the University of Ghana have collaborated and come up with a training programme for masseurs and physiotherapists.
“We have realised in our local leagues most of the medical people attached to our teams are masseurs most of them (teams) don’t have doctors so we have a physios and masseurs – so we organise training for them.”
“There are avenues for training for people to have that basic skill and to use the AED you don’t have to be a medical person in fact you don’t need to be educated you just have to be trained and it takes less than 10 minutes.”
He added that in Ghana the cities of Accra and Kumasi are well equipped to deal with such medical emergencies but that further afield more work needs to be done.
Dr Pambo pointed out that match referees and match commissioners also play a crucial role in helping ensure player safety and wellbeing.
“If you get to the league centre as a referee or a match commissioner you need to inspect to see whether there is a functioning ambulance ready to work before you can sanction the match to start,” he insisted.
“We have been to venues where this an ambulance only to see that the tires are flat. Every referee has the right to decide not to start a game if he cannot see a fully equipped ambulance and paramedics ready.
“We want clubs to equip their medical teams with this knowledge so when they hear we are doing such training they should sponsor their masseurs to come forward or to hire qualified people,
“Most of these things we see happening during big games also happen during training sessions so clubs need to be better equipped.”
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially opened the bidding process for countries interested in hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2028, 2032 and 2036, with several member associations already submitting proposals.
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe disclosed that the bidding exercise is progressing smoothly and described the level of interest from prospective hosts as encouraging.
“The bidding process is progressing very well, and numerous exciting bids have been submitted by potential host countries,” CAF said, adding that announcements on successful hosts will be made in due course.
Meanwhile, CAF confirmed that its 48th Ordinary General Assembly will be held in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 21, 2026.
The continental governing body expressed appreciation to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for their cooperation in preparations for the event.
CAF said the General Assembly is expected to attract football leaders from across the continent and will play a significant role in shaping policies aimed at accelerating the development and growth of African football.
The organisation added that the Abuja gathering is expected to be one of its most significant assemblies in recent years as CAF continues implementing reforms across competitions, infrastructure development, youth football and governance.
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By Kunle Solaja
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have taken the first step towards jointly hosting the 2032 Africa Cup of Nations after submitting an expression of interest to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Nigerien Football Federation announced that CAF had accepted the joint declaration submitted by the three West African nations, marking the opening phase of the bidding process.
However, the acceptance of the expression of interest does not amount to an award of the hosting rights, as the countries must still undergo CAF’s comprehensive evaluation process before a final decision is made.
The three football federations unveiled their joint project following a meeting with CAF President Patrice Motsepe in the United States during the closing stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The proposed bid brings together the three members of the Alliance of Sahel States, reflecting their ambition to co-host one of Africa’s biggest sporting events and strengthen regional cooperation through football.
Earlier this month, CAF officially opened the bidding process for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, inviting all 54 member associations to submit expressions of interest. The continental governing body said all bids would be assessed based on strict technical, financial and legal criteria.
As the next stage of the process, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso must prepare a comprehensive bid dossier outlining the proposed host cities, stadiums, training facilities, transport infrastructure, accommodation capacity and security arrangements.
CAF has yet to announce the timetable for selecting the 2032 host nation(s) or reveal the full list of countries expected to compete for the hosting rights.
Should the joint bid eventually succeed, the tournament would return to Mali for the first time since it staged the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. It would also mark a historic first for both Niger and Burkina Faso, neither of which has previously hosted the continent’s flagship football championship.
The bid underscores the growing trend of joint hosting arrangements for major football tournaments, allowing neighbouring countries to pool infrastructure and resources while expanding the reach of the competition across multiple nations.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, Brooklyn, NY
A document circulating widely on social media claiming that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has stripped Morocco of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and declared Senegal champions appears to be fabricated, with official CAS records showing no evidence that a final ruling has been issued.
The claim emerged months after the Senegalese Football Federation appealed a decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to award Morocco a 3-0 victory in the controversial AFCON final. While Senegal’s appeal is genuine, the latest official information indicates that the case remains unresolved.
One of the clearest indications that the viral document is not authentic is its case number. The circulating image bears the reference CAS 2026/A/10857, whereas CAS officially confirmed that Senegal’s appeal was registered under CAS 2026/A/12295. Such a discrepancy would not be expected in a genuine final award.
The document also incorrectly identifies the dispute as being solely between the Senegalese Football Federation and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. CAS has officially stated that the appeal was lodged against both CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, since the challenged decision originated from CAF’s Appeals Board.
The purported ruling further claims that CAS issued its verdict on June 10, 2026, accepting Senegal’s appeal, overturning CAF’s decision and restoring the result achieved on the field, effectively awarding the continental title to Senegal.
However, a review of CAS’s official communications reveals no statement, judgment or announcement issued on that date regarding the AFCON final dispute.
The latest public update from CAS remains the statement released on March 25, 2026, in which the court confirmed only that Senegal’s appeal had been registered and that an arbitration panel had been appointed. CAS also stated that it was too early to determine a hearing date or indicate when a final decision might be delivered.
In the same communication, CAS disclosed that Senegal had requested an extension to file its appeal brief until it received the full written reasons behind CAF’s ruling. The court also reiterated that arbitration proceedings remain confidential while ongoing.
That timeline directly contradicts the claims contained in the viral document.
Further doubts about the document’s authenticity stem from the fact that it does not appear in CAS’s official database of published decisions. The image circulating online also excludes CAF from the list of respondents and exists only as a low-quality graphic featuring signatures, stamps and an Arabic translation without any verifiable official source.
CAS typically publishes non-confidential rulings through its official database or recent decisions section. No ruling relating to the AFCON final dispute has been published.
Until CAS announces otherwise, CAF’s Appeals Board decision remains the only valid and enforceable ruling in the matter.
On March 17, 2026, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the AFCON final after its players left the field during the match. Invoking Articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations, the board awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory, overturned an earlier disciplinary decision and upheld Morocco’s protest.
Senegal subsequently challenged that ruling before CAS, but the appeal has yet to produce a publicly announced outcome.
As things stand, there is no official evidence that CAS has revoked Morocco’s AFCON 2025 title or declared Senegal champions. Unless and until the Lausanne-based court issues a formal decision, CAF’s ruling remains in force, making the viral document misleading and highly likely to be fake.
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