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Zimbabwe, Kenya Booted Out of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations


FILE: AFCON soccer match between Zimbabwe and Guinea
FILE: AFCON soccer match between Zimbabwe and Guinea

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has thrown Zimbabwe out of the 2023 Africa Cup

of Nations after the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) refused to reinstate the Felton Kamambo board they suspended as instructed by Fifa.

In a statement, CAF said, “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. The qualifiers will kick-off on the first day of June 2022.

“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 and Zimbabwe, suspended for political interference, have not yet met the criteria required by the FIFA Congress as a prerequisite for lifting their suspension.

Fifa had ordered the Sports and Recreation Commission to reinstate the Kamambo-led Zifa board they suspended, something which the SRC has refused to do.

As a result because of the suspension, the two associations; Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) will be considered losers and eliminated from the competition. Groups C and K will be composed only of three teams and 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 first and runner-up teams of those groups will qualify to the final tournament.”

Zimbabwe had been drawn in the same group with Liberia, Morocco, and South Africa.

Michael Kariati contributed to this article

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