Kenya and Zimbabwe excluded from 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) excluded Kenya and Zimbabwe from the 2023 African Nations Cup qualifiers, due to government interference in the affairs of the two countries' federations.

The Confederation said in a statement: "Kenya and Zimbabwe did not meet the criteria of the International Federation as requirements to lift the ban on them," considering the two teams "losers and excluded from the continental competition."

As a result, the number of their groups will be reduced to three teams and the order of matches will remain as previously scheduled.

The two federations were suspended by the International Federation on February 24, "with immediate effect due to the improper influence of a third party," while FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke of "governmental interference in the activities of the local federation."

The African Confederation included them in the draw last April, on the condition that the ban on them be lifted two weeks before the first round of the qualifiers.

Kenya has fallen into a third group that includes Burundi, Cameroon, Namibia and Zimbabwe in a group of eleven that includes Liberia, Morocco and South Africa.

The Kenyan government has placed the Football Association under tutelage, after accusations of embezzlement against its president, Nick Mwendwa.

In Zimbabwe, a government sports body sacked federation officials over financial irregularities.

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, scheduled for Ivory Coast, will start in early June 2022.

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