The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has expelled Zimbabwe and Kenya from their respective groups ahead of the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
CAF made the drastic move after both nations failed to have their suspensions by FIFA lifted. Both Zimbabwe and Kenya were suspended by FIFA for political interference.
A statement issued by CAF on Monday, 23 May 2022, confirming Zimbabwe and Kenya’s expulsion from the qualifiers read:
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. As a result:
Because of the suspension, the following will apply:
- 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 for the final tournament.