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Rabat – With Kenya and Zimbabwe having failed to overturn their suspensions by FIFA, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the two countries will not participate in the qualifiers of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to be hosted in Cote d’Ivoire.
Last February, The FIFA council suspended the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) due to their governments interfering in their activities.
Zimbabwe’s Sport and Recreation Commission, which is a government-led body, took over the ZIFA, while Kenya’s sports ministry removed FKF’s leaders on accusations of corruption and fraud. FIFA rejected third-party interference in the football associations’ affairs.
Despite the FIFA suspension, Kenya and Zimbabwe were included in the 2023 AFCON draw on April 19 but were drawn into two different groups to avoid having one group with only two teams. “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,” CAF said in a press release.
Kenya was drawn into Group C alongside Burundi, Namibia, and Cameroon, whereas the draw placed Zimbabwe in Group K with Liberia, South Africa, and Morocco.
Following the elimination of Kenya and Zimbabwe, Groups C and K will be composed only of three teams, said CAF, adding that “the order of the matches will be maintained in accordance with the match schedule that has been communicated to the teams after the draw.”
The top two teams from each group will advance to the final tournament of the AFCON 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire.
Kenya and Zimbabwe will not receive any funding from FIFA during their suspension, and their football teams will not be able to participate in any competitions organized by FIFA or the CAF.
The AFCON playoffs will kick off on June 1, 2022, with only 46 participating nations.
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