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Case Study

The Final Whistle: Leadership, authority and moral choice at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

By Sarah Dagher Al Feghali, Sïmon Saneback and Tawfik M. Jelassi

8 pages

June 2026

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Reference: IMD-2765

The case chronicles the acute leadership crisis that erupted during the final minutes of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final match. It presents a real-world dilemma in which formal authority clashes with informal influence, and deeply held values are pitted against team solidarity. The central conflict revolves around Sadio Mané, a globally respected football (soccer) player. Although he is not the team captain, he defies his head coach’s direct order to abandon the championship-deciding match. Rather than presenting a simple choice between reason and emotion, this case study is intentionally framed as a clash between two legitimate, albeit competing, leadership philosophies: Coach Thiaw’s high-risk, principled protest against perceived systemic injustice, versus Sadio Mané’s values-based appeal to preserve institutional integrity.

Learning Objective

Analyze the dynamics of crisis leadership and decision making when facing competing values.
Evaluate the concepts of formal authority (legitimate power) versus informal influence (referent power).
Assess the tradeoff between immediate protest against perceived injustice and long-term consequences for institutional reputation.
Apply the principles of values-based leadership and sport’s moral character to a real-world ethical dilemma.

Keywords

Leadership, Negotiation, Decision Making, Crisis Management

Settings

Africa, Morocco
Africa Cup of Nations, Travel and Leisure, Sports
January 2026

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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