JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Kenya and
Zimbabwe will be included in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw on
Tuesday in Johannesburg despite being banned by FIFA over government
interference.
اضافة اعلان
“We have included the two countries in the hope that
the bans will be lifted not later than two weeks before the first matchday in
June,” a
Confederation of African Football (CAF) spokesman told AFP.
A Zimbabwe government-funded umbrella sport body
drew the ire of FIFA by sacking national football association executives led by
Felton Kamambo over issues including failing to account for public funds.
Kenyan sports ministry officials disbanded the
national football federation after its president, Nick Mwendwa, was charged
with multiple counts of fraud.
CAF have 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 shrink from four nations to three with the top two finishers still
qualifying for the finals.
The first two qualifying match days 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, who 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.
The Ivorians hope home advantage will help complete
a treble after becoming African champions in 1992 in Senegal and again in 2015
in Equatorial Guinea.
Since the
Cup of Nations was expanded from 16 teams
to 24 three years ago, six stadiums are required and Abidjan (two), Bouake,
Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro are the Ivorian choices.
Rebuilding behind schedule
Rebuilding work is
reportedly only about 25 percent complete at the stadium named after the
president who ruled the former French colony for 33 years after achieving
independence in 1960.
A seeded draw will create 12 groups of four teams
with the
Ivory Coast taking part to gain competitive match practice, instead of
relying on often meaningless friendly matches in the tournament build-up.
Ivory Coast will
qualify wherever they finish in the group with the highest placed of the other
three teams also booking a place at the finals.
All five African qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup
in Qatar – Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon and
Ghana – are among the top
seeds.
The top 42 African teams in the latest
FIFA rankings
were automatic entrants while the Gambia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Sao Tome e
Principe and South Sudan won preliminary ties and Botswana received a
walkover.
Gambia, who took Africa by storm this year when
reaching the 2021/2022 quarter-finals, almost missed out with an added-time
penalty salvaging a draw against Chad that squeezed them through.
Seeding
Pot 1: Senegal (holders), Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon,
Algeria, Mali, Ivory Coast (hosts), Burkina Faso, Ghana, Democratic Republic of
Congo
Pot
2:
South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Gabon, Benin, Uganda, Zambia, Congo
Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya, Sierra Leone
Pot
3: Namibia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Libya, Mozambique, Malawi,
Togo, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Angola, Comoros
Pot 4: Tanzania, Central
African Republic, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Lesotho,
Botswana, Liberia, South Sudan, Sao Tome e Principe
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