The Harambee Stars of Kenya and the Warriors of Zimbabwe will not participate in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after they were expelled by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) due to political interference.
Kenya and Zimbabwe’s football associations have received government interference in their affairs and due to that have not yet met the criteria required by the FIFA Congress as a prerequisite for lifting their suspension. 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.The qualifiers will kick-off on the first day of June 2022.
“The two associations; Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) will be considered losers and eliminated from the competition,”CAF said in a statement on their official website.
“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 to the final tournament.”