Kenya, Zimbabwe To Make 2023 AFCON Draw Despite FIFA Ban

Confederation of African Football (CAF) says it will include Kenya and Zimbabwe in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw.

The addition of the two national teams to the draw that will take place on Tuesday in Johannesburg is coming amid the FIFA ban imposed on them over government interference.

A CAF official who announced the development said Africa’s football governing body took the decision to include the banned teams in the draw in anticipation that the ban would be lifted before the qualifier began

“We have included the two countries in the hope that the bans will be lifted no later than two weeks before the first matchday in June,” a Confederation of African Football (CAF) spokesman told AFP.

FIFA wielded the big stick on Zimbabwe after a government-backed sport body sacked national football association executives led by Felton Kamambo over issues including financial impropriety

Kenyan sports ministry officials disbanded the national football federation after its president, Nick Mwendwa, was charged with multiple counts of fraud.

CAF has set a deadline of mid-May for the bans to be lifted or the countries will be barred from taking part.

Should Kenya and or Zimbabwe fail to have the suspensions lifted, the groups they are placed in will be made up from four nations to three with the top two finishers still qualifying for the finals.

The first two qualifying matchdays are scheduled between May 30 and June 14, with two more rounds between September 19 and 27 and the final two next year from March 20-28.

Ivory Coast, which staged the tournament in 1984 when it comprises just eight teams and was won for the first time by Cameroon, will host a 24-team event next June and July.