The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says Kenya and Zimbabwe will not compete in the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, which begin next month (CAF).
Due to government intervention in the sport’s administration in their respective countries, FIFA has suspended the two countries from international football.
The Kenya Ministry of Sports, led by Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, suspended the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in November 2021 and established a caretaker board to supervise soccer in the country.
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) of Zimbabwe suspended the association in November 2021, citing alleged sexual harassment of female referees by technical workers and allegations of fraud as explanations.
CAF reminded the two teams in a letter prior to the draw for the 2023 AFCON qualifiers that if the suspension is not removed two weeks before the first matchday of their qualifications, they will be considered losers and will be kicked out of the competition.
On Saturday, May 12, the deadline passed without Kenya and Zimbabwe being re-admitted to the international community. As a result, no country will compete in the AFCON in 2023.
According to a statement on CAF’s website, “as a result of their failure to have their FIFA sanctions overturned, both Kenya and Zimbabwe will not compete in the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 qualifiers.”
“The qualifiers will commence on the first day of June 2022.
“In April 2022, CAF included them in the official draw on the condition that their suspension be lifted two weeks before their first encounter.”
“Kenya and Zimbabwe, both suspended for political intervention, have yet to meet the FIFA Congress’s requirements for their suspensions to be lifted.” Consequently:
“The following will be in effect due to the suspension:
“- The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) would both be eliminated as losers from the competition.
“- Only three teams will be in Groups C and K, and the match sequence will be set by the match schedule issued to the teams after the draw.
The notice added, “- The top two teams from each group will progress to the final competition.”
As a result of the recent modification, Cameroon, Namibia, and Burundi will now be in Group C, while Morocco, South Africa, and Liberia will be in Group K.
