Kenya kicked out of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

• Kenya is under FIFA suspension due to Government interference
• CS Amina Mohamed has refused to back down her decision to disband the Federation
• Kenya was due to play Cameroon and Namibia

Kenya’s Harambee Stars will not be at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Monday night confirmed their expulsion from the qualifiers due to a current FIFA suspension.

CAF said that Kenya and Zimbabwe, both suspended by FIFA, will be omitted from playing in the qualifiers. Both countries were suspended in early February due to Government interference.

“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,” a statement from CAF said.

It added; “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 matchday.”

Kenya was due to play Cameroon away on June 4 and Namibia at home four days later in the first two qualification matches but the games have now been canceled and Group C will remain with three teams; Cameroon, Namibia, and Burundi.

Harambee Stars players in training

Consequently, Kenya is also set to miss out on the qualification for next year’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) whose draw is scheduled for Thursday.

The country has already missed out on the qualification for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with Kenya handing a walkover to Uganda in the final round of qualification due to the same reasons.

At the same time, if the situation remains the same by June 30, then no Kenyan team will play at next year’s CAF Interclub matches (Champions League and Confederation Cup).

The country is also staring at a definite ban from all international activities if the same is not rescinded.

Kenya’s troubles started last year November when Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed disbanded the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) over what she termed as corruption within the Federation and misuse of public funds.

Despite letters from FIFA asking her to rescind her decision, CS Amina gave a cold shoulder and went on to form a caretaker committee to run the game in the country. In February, FIFA’s Governing Council ratified the decision to suspend Kenya after their demands were not met.

Sports CS Amina Mohamed receives the report

According to FIFA, a government cannot interfere with the running of the Federation. CS Amina however reiterated that her Ministry will continue with their plan to replace the elected officials.

Already, the Caretaker Committee’s tenure ended on May 10 and CS Amina extended their term, though changing their name from a caretaker Committee to a Transitional Committee.

The Committee has been tasked with running of the leagues till the end as well as creating a roadmap for a new FKF Constitution as well as the election of new office bearers.

However, all this comes without blessings from FIFA and most pundits are predicting the creation of a Normalization Committee to stabilize the situation.