It has been confirmed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that neither the Harambee Star of Kenya nor the Warriors of Zimbabwe will take part in the qualifying tournament for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 1st of June marks the beginning of the campaign for Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
The Kenyan and Zimbabwean football federations were both banned by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) for their involvement in political interference.
The CAF decided to include them in the official draw with the stipulation that the suspension must be lifted two weeks before the start of the qualifiers for which they are competing.
However, neither of the two countries has been able to satisfy the requirements set forth by the FIFA Congress in order to have their suspensions lifted. This was a prerequisite for doing so.
According to a statement that was published on CAF’s official website, “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. “
According to what was written there, “the first and runner-up teams of those groups will qualify to play in the final tournament.”