Betting companies in the United Kingdom and France have begun paying out wagers placed on Morocco to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, just a day after the Confederation of African Football overturned the result of the January 18 final and stripped Senegal of the title.
The bookmakers confirmed the developments in separate statements released on Wednesday.
UK-based operator Sky Bet said it had already settled bets in favour of Morocco following CAF’s decision.
“The result of the 2025 AFCON final has been officially reversed, with Morocco now being crowned winners of the tournament. We have now paid out on Morocco as winners in the outright market,” the company said.
Betfair also confirmed it had reprocessed its AFCON outright ante-post markets, recognising Morocco as the winners, while noting that earlier payouts made on Senegal would still remain valid.
“It’s a goodwill gesture,” the company said.
Paddy Power likewise announced payouts on Morocco, describing the move in celebratory terms.
“Morocco have been awarded the AFCON, so we have paid out bets on them in the outright market,” it said, adding that the settlement covered singles and multiples across both online and retail channels, with no maximum stake applied.
In France, betting firm Betclic also honoured bets placed on Morocco, referencing Brahim Diaz’s missed penalty in its statement.
“Like a Panenka from Diaz, we decided to play along even three months later and exceptionally validate all ‘Competition Winner: Morocco’ and ‘Final Victory: Morocco’ bets,” it said.
The payouts came after CAF’s Appeal Board ruling on Monday, which determined that Senegal had forfeited the final for breaching Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON competition regulations.
Those provisions stipulate a 3-0 defeat for any team that abandons the field without the referee’s approval, leading CAF to award a 3-0 victory to Morocco.
The controversy stems from stoppage time in the Rabat final, when VAR awarded Morocco a penalty.
Senegal players briefly walked off the pitch for about 15 minutes, with only captain Sadio Mané remaining on the field.
They eventually returned, after which Diaz missed the resulting spot-kick with a Panenka attempt. Pape Gueye later scored in extra time, initially appearing to secure the title for Senegal.
Morocco later lodged an appeal, which CAF’s Appeal Board upheld, overturning the result two months after the final was played.
The Senegalese Football Federation has since confirmed it will challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Separately, the Senegalese government has called for an investigation into alleged corruption within CAF.
