The Organising Committee for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations has disqualified Kenya from the 2017 edition for fielding five ineligible players against Sudan.
The East Africans fielded the players during their First Round first leg clash against Sudan on April 3 at the El Merreikh Stadium in Khartoum, which ended 1-1.
The five players include Erick Otieno, born on Sept. 27, 1996, Nicholas Kipkirui, born on May 31, 1996, and Boniface Muchiri, born on Aug. 23, 1996.
The rest are Eugene Mukangula, born on June 22, 1996 and Theodore Kilele, born on Sept. 25, 1996.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF), in a statement on its website, said this was contrary to a circular sent to all National Associations.
It had said only players born on Jan. 1, 1997 or after are eligible to participate in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Zambia in 2017.
“The Organising Committee, after its findings, concluded that the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) clearly violated article 40.11 of the competition’s regulations.
“The regulation states that a team which allows a non-qualified or a suspended player to take part in a direct knockout match shall lose the match and shall be eliminated from the competition, even in the absence of protests.’’
CAF General Secretary Hicham El Amrani said the Kenyan under-20 national team has consequently been disqualified from the preliminaries.
In a letter dated April 19, addressed to the CEO of FKF, CAF also said the Sudanese under-20 national team has qualified for the next round.
It however pointed out that the decision could be contested before the CAF Appeal Board within three days of notification.(NAN)