Madar (Nouakchott) - Mauritanian club AS Douanes announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued its decision on Monday, November 9, 2026, in Lausanne, in the dispute with Guinea's Hafia FC of Conakry, rejecting the Guinean club's appeal, according to a statement from the Mauritanian club.
According to the statement, CAS upheld the September 14, 2026 decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Interclub Competitions Organising Committee, which recognised "force majeure" and ordered the return leg between the two teams in the Confederation Cup first preliminary round to be rescheduled.
The club said the ruling "definitively" confirms its qualification for the second preliminary round of the 2026-2027 competition, where it will face Algeria's CR Belouizdad.
The two sides drew 2-2 in the first leg in Nouakchott. The return leg was scheduled for September 11 in Conakry, but the Douanes delegation was unable to travel after an incident involving the aircraft that was to carry it. The match was eventually played on September 19 and ended in a 1-0 win for Douanes.
Hafia FC contested CAF's decision, arguing that Douanes' absence on September 11 resulted from organisational failures rather than force majeure. Its appeal, filed on October 8, led CAS to provisionally postpone the Douanes-Belouizdad tie pending a ruling on the dispute.
