The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that Kenya has been thrown out of the for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, following the Government’s failure to meet demands of reinstating the Federation given by world governing body FIFA.
CAF through a statement said that both Kenya and Zimbabwe, who are under suspension from FIFA for similar reasons, will not be part of the qualification journey towards next month’s tournament in Ivory Coast.
“As a consequence of having failed to have their suspensions by FIFA set aside, CAF has confirmed that both Kenya and Zimbabwe will not participate in the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 qualifiers,” a statement from CAF said.
It added; “CAF had included them in the official draw earlier in April 2022 on condition that the suspension must be lifted two weeks before their first match day.”
Kenya was handed a suspension from FIFA early this year due to Government interference after Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed disbanded the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) over corruption and misuse of public money.
Kenya was due to play Cameroon away and Namibia at home in the first two qualification matches but the games have now been cancelled and Group C will remain with three teams; Cameroon, Namibia and Burundi.
Kenya is also set to miss out on the qualification for next year’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) whose draw is set to take place on Thursday.
The country already handed Uganda a walk over to the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after missing out on the final round of the qualification for the same reasons.
If the situation remains unchanged, then no Kenyan team will play in next year’s CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup while Women’s League winners Vihiga Queens will not play in the qualifiers for the second edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League.
As things stand, Kenyan referees will miss out on appointments to officiate in the upcoming qualifiers and international assignments until the mess is sorted out.