GUINEA · FOOTBALL
Key Facts
- —The country Guinea’s Hafia FC, a Conakry club and vice-champion of Guinea, is in a dispute with African football’s governing body that also involves clubs from Mauritania and Algeria.
- —Why it matters A sports court order, as the club describes it, stopped a continental tie one day before kick-off and shows that confederation decisions can be tested in Lausanne.
- —Why now The first leg of the tie was due on Saturday 17 October in Nouakchott, and the club announced the order on Friday 16 October.
- —What happened Hafia FC says the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered the Confederation of African Football to postpone both legs of the tie.
- —The numbers Two legs, 17 October and 23 to 25 October; case number TAS 2026/A/12858; a replay Hafia lost 1-0 on 19 September after a 2-2 first leg.
- —What it means for you No US club is involved, but the case shows how a Swiss arbitration court can be asked to freeze a fixture, a process familiar from other sports.
- —Still open Whether the confederation confirms the postponement, sets new dates and how the court rules on the merits of Hafia’s challenge.
Hafia FC says CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, ordered the AS Douanes vs CR Belouizdad tie postponed, in a club statement issued on Friday 16 October. The tie is a CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round fixture, and its first leg was due on Saturday 17 October.
For US readers, the case shows how a continental football tie can be put on hold by the sport’s Swiss court a day before kick-off, if the club’s account holds. Neither the Confederation of African Football (CAF) nor CAS has published the order or confirmed it in anything we found, so what follows rests on the club’s statement and the local reports that repeat it.
Why Hafia FC Says CAS Postponed the Tie
Hafia FC, a club from Conakry, says CAS issued an order of provisional measures on Friday 16 October in case TAS 2026/A/12858. In the club’s account, the order tells CAF to postpone both legs of the tie between AS Douanes of Mauritania and CR Belouizdad of Algeria.
The first leg was set for Saturday 17 October in Nouakchott, with the return leg between 23 and 25 October. Africa Top Sports gave the kick-off as 17:00 GMT at the Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya.
Hafia says CAS noted that CAF’s decision citing force majeure, meaning an event outside anyone’s control, carried no reasons. It adds that its internal appeal to the CAF appeal jury, filed on Wednesday 16 September, was never answered.
Guineematin, Guinee7 and Ledjely in Guinea and Madar in Mauritania carried the club’s statement on Friday, and none of them quotes a CAS or CAF document. Le Soir d’Algérie noted that CAF had issued no communiqué confirming the postponement.
The club describes the measure as provisional, so it does not settle the underlying dispute. Hafia says the case on the merits continues before CAS, and Guineematin expects a ruling in the coming weeks.
Readers who want the wider setting can start with Guinea Explained: Doumbouya’s Rule, Bauxite, Simandou Iron Ore and What to Watch and Mauritania Explained: Iron Ore, Offshore Gas, Migration and the 2029 Question. The Algerian side is covered in Algeria Explained 2026, Politics, Gas and Economy.
How the Hafia FC Dispute With CAF Began
Hafia was due to host AS Douanes in Conakry on Friday 11 September for the return leg of the first preliminary round. The Mauritanian club did not travel, and Mauritanian outlets Tawassoul and Madar reported that the plane meant to carry the squad left the runway at Nouakchott airport, with no casualties reported.
Guinee7 reported that the Guinean federation, FEGUIFOOT, said CAF officials were already in Conakry and the technical meeting went ahead without Douanes. CAF told the federation the visitors could not travel and sent the case to its interclub competitions commission.
Hafia expected a win by default, Guineematin wrote, but the commission ordered the return leg replayed and retained force majeure. By 15 September the club said it contested that decision and was still ready to play the replay.
The replay took place in Conakry on Saturday 19 September, and AS Douanes won 1-0 through a Mouhsine Bodda free kick in the 74th minute. After a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Nouakchott, that sent the Mauritanian club through and ended Hafia’s run, Guinee7 reported.
Hafia argues that the absence in Conakry came from avoidable organisational failings, not from force majeure. That is the club’s position, and the coverage reviewed carries no direct reply to it from AS Douanes or CAF.
What Is at Stake for the Two Clubs
CR Belouizdad is an Algerian club that Africa Top Sports calls the Algerian champion, and it was due in Nouakchott on Saturday. Afrik-Foot wrote that the club was left in doubt a day before the match, with the tie postponed without a new date.
AS Douanes, which Africa Top Sports places in the Mauritanian capital, reached this round through the replay that Hafia contests. What a later ruling on the merits would mean for its place in the competition has not been stated by CAS or CAF.
Hafia says the order prevents a sporting fait accompli, meaning a played result that would make a later legal win empty. In its words, a favourable ruling on the merits will not be deprived of effect.
What It Means for US Readers
No US club plays in this tie, and nothing in the order changes travel, visa or trade rules. The practical effect falls on fans, broadcasters and clubs that plan around CAF dates in Africa.
CAS, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the sport’s main arbitration court, so the process will look familiar from other sports. A provisional order is a holding measure, not a verdict, and the full case is still to be heard.
What Is Not Known
Neither CAF nor CAS has published the order or a statement on it that we could find, so the order’s wording rests on Hafia FC’s statement. The outlets that repeated it all trace back to that one statement, so they are not independent confirmation.
No new date has been announced for either leg, and it is unknown whether CAF will reschedule or wait for the ruling on the merits. Afrik-Foot speculated that a Hafia win on the merits could void the tie, but neither CAS nor CAF has said so.
What outcome Hafia seeks beyond the postponement is not stated in the coverage reviewed. AS Douanes and CR Belouizdad had not commented in the sources opened.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Court of Arbitration for Sport order?
According to the club, CAS ordered CAF to postpone both legs of the Mauritania-Algeria tie. The club says the order is provisional, dated Friday 16 October, in case TAS 2026/A/12858.
When was AS Douanes vs CR Belouizdad due to be played?
The first leg was set for Saturday 17 October in Nouakchott. The return leg was due between 23 and 25 October.
Why did Hafia FC go to CAS?
The Guinean club contests CAF’s decision to replay its first-round return leg against AS Douanes after the Mauritanian side missed the 11 September match in Conakry. It says the absence came from avoidable organisational failings, not force majeure.
Have CAF or CAS confirmed the postponement?
Neither has published a statement that we could find. Le Soir d’Algérie wrote on Friday that CAF had published no communiqué confirming it.
Is the case over?
No, because the club describes the order as only a provisional measure. Hafia says the case on the merits continues before CAS.
Sources: Guinéenews, 16 October 2026 (Hafia FC statement); Guineematin, 16 October 2026; Guinee7, 16 October 2026; Ledjely, 16 October 2026; Le Soir d’Algérie, 16 October 2026; Afrik-Foot, 16 October 2026; Africa Top Sports, 16 October 2026; Guinee7, 11 September 2026; Guinee7, 19 September 2026; Ledjely, 15 September 2026; Madar, 16 October 2026; Tawassoul, 10 September 2026. Neither CAS nor CAF had published the order or a statement on it that we could find.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief