FIFA on Wednesday confirmed the final line-up for the inter-confederation play-off tournament, naming DR Congo as Africa’s representative.

The development by the footballing body has dashed Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In an accreditation notice circulated to journalists ahead of the competition, FIFA detailed the tournament format and listed the six participating nations.

DR Congo’s inclusion leaves no room for Nigeria, whose football federation had challenged the result of their defeat in the CAF play-offs in November 2025.

The Nigeria Football Federation lodged a formal protest, alleging that DR Congo fielded ineligible players during the decisive tie, which ended 1-1 and went to penalties, where Nigeria lost.

The appeal sought to overturn the result and secure the Super Eagles’ place in the inter-continental play-offs.

Details later…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned “some Senegal players” for the “unacceptable scenes” which overshadowed their victory in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final when they walked off the pitch in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco.

”We strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members. It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner,” said Infantino in a statement sent to AFP.

“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport; it is simply not right.”

African football’s showpiece event was marred by most of the Senegalese players walking off the pitch when deep into injury time of normal play, with the match all square at 0-0, Morocco were awarded a spot-kick following a VAR check for a challenge on Brahim Diaz.

Senegal’s former Liverpool star Sadio Mane remained on the pitch and urged his teammates to come back onto the pitch for the penalty.

They were already furious at having a goal disallowed at the other end for a soft-looking foul minutes earlier.

Meanwhile, trouble broke out in the stands as some Senegalese fans tried to enter the field of play and became involved in fighting with security personnel.

The game was held up for almost 20 minutes before Diaz could take the penalty, and his weak ‘panenka’ kick was saved by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Pape Gueye then went on to score a brilliant goal in the fourth minute of extra time to give his team a 1-0 win.

Infantino, while congratulating Morocco on “a fantastic tournament, both as runners-up and exceptional hosts” — a boost ahead of them co-hosting the men’s 2030 World Cup — said teams have to abide by the match officials’ decisions.

“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play,” he said.

“Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”

Infantino, who will be hoping there are no such scenes in this year’s World Cup finals being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, said images such as those on Sunday sent the wrong message to supporters around the world.

“It is also the responsibility of teams and players to act responsibly and set the right example for fans in the stadiums and millions watching around the world,” he said.

“The ugly scenes witnessed today must be condemned and never repeated. I reiterated that they have no place in football and I expect that the relevant disciplinary bodies at CAF will take the appropriate measures.”

The Confederation of African Football has said that the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 has become the most successful commercial venture in the history of African football, recording more than a 90 per cent increase in revenues.

In a statement obtained from its website on Thursday, CAF said the achievement was driven by expanded sponsorship deals, broader media rights distribution, and entry into new markets, particularly in Asia.

The body stated, “The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 is now undoubtedly the most successful commercial story in the history of African football as the commercial success of the competition has led to over 90% increase in the CAF revenues for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025.”

The continental body attributed the surge to expanded partnerships, wider media rights distribution, and penetration into new territories.

It explained that the growth was “driven by a significant increase in the commercial partners of CAF, an increase in media rights distribution, and also CAF venturing into new markets, most notably the Far East, China, Japan, while also consolidating traditional markets.”

Providing details of the sponsorship trajectory, CAF noted, “The number of commercial partners increased from nine during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 to 17 during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.”

It added that, “For the 2025 edition in Morocco, CAF has continued to attract more partners and now has 23 sponsors.”

CAF also stressed that the expansion reflected “both the attraction of new global brands and the retention of existing partners, for whom the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON has been an excellent return on investment.”

The football governing body said the commercial boom followed a deliberate data-driven strategy implemented after the 2023 finals in Côte d’Ivoire.

According to the statement, “The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations has recorded unprecedented commercial growth between 2021 and 2025, driven by a deliberate, data-led strategy that has repositioned the competition as a truly global football property.”

CAF said audience research conducted after the last edition revealed untapped interest across several regions, adding that the findings “provided a clear roadmap for future commercial engagement.”

It stated that the insights informed the current cycle with “targeted focus placed on regions demonstrating high engagement levels, including China, Japan, Brazil, and key European markets.”

On its widening global footprint, CAF disclosed that its sponsor base now covered multiple continents, with partners from the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, while the European Union had also joined as a sponsor.

The body listed long-standing collaborators such as TotalEnergies, Orange, Lonaci, 1xBet, Visa, Tecno, and Puma as continuing their association, with AGL, Danone, and Unilever renewing their commitments.