CAS: Mady Touré’s appeal referred to the FSF Electoral Commission

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rendered its decision on Friday August 21, 2026 in the case relating to the presidential election of the Senegalese Football Federation. He decided to refer the case opposing Mady Touré to the governing body of Senegalese football to the Electoral Appeals Commission of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF). A decision which requires a new examination of the appeal filed by the unsuccessful candidate for the 2025 presidential election, without calling into question, at this stage, the results of the election.

Requested by Mady Touré, the CAS considered that the appeal lodged by the latter with the FSF Electoral Appeals Commission had been wrongly declared inadmissible.

The international sports court thus considers that the Appeals Commission “should have examined the appeal for annulment filed by Mr. Touré and taken a decision on the merits”. She therefore asks him to resume examination of the file and to rule again, in accordance with the considerations of the CAS decision.

As a reminder, the affair dates back to the elective general assembly of the FSF, held on August 2 and 3, 2025. Mady Touré, presidential candidate, left the session around 2 a.m., after announcing to the president of the Electoral Commission her decision to suspend her participation in the second round.

At the end of the vote, Abdoulaye Fall was elected president of the FSF for a four-year term.

Mady Touré then appealed to the Appeals Commission to obtain the cancellation of the electoral process and the organization of new elections. He cited in particular irregularities linked to summons, the conduct of debates as well as the control of voters and the counting.

But, on August 25, 2025, the Appeals Commission declared his appeal inadmissible.

Mady Touré then seized the CAS on September 11, 2025, contesting this decision and requesting the cancellation of the Elective General Assembly for the election of the president of the FSF, as well as the convening of a new EGM.

The CAS criticizes the inadmissibility decision
A hearing was held by videoconference on March 10, 2026. After examining the arguments of the different parties and the provisions of the FSF Electoral Code, the CAS Arbitration Panel concluded that the decision of inadmissibility was not legally founded.

According to the press release, this decision “violated the Electoral Code”. The CAS therefore considers that the Appeals Commission had to examine Mady Touré’s appeal on the merits.

However, the arbitral jurisdiction indicates that it does not itself have sufficient elements to rule on the substantive grievances, in particular on the request for annulment of the presidential election. “In the absence of any investigative measure from the Appeals Commission”, the CAS decided to refer the case back to this body for further investigation.

The 2025 results are not called into question
The CAS specifies that this referral does not mean a cancellation of the presidential election of August 2025. “This referral has no impact on the results of the presidential election of August 2025,” underlines the press release.

The ball is now in the court of the FSF Electoral Appeals Commission, which will have to resume the examination of Mady Touré’s appeal and render a new decision on the merits.

The CAS also specifies that the document made public constitutes “an unofficial summary intended for the media”. The full award must be published on its website, unless the parties request confidentiality. The court recalls that for legal purposes, only the text of the written decision is authentic.