The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has confirmed that both the Harambee Star, Kenya, and Warriors of Zimbabwe will not participate in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The race for Cote d’Ivoire 2023 will begin on June 1.
Kenya and Zimbabwe were suspended by the Federation of International Football Association, FIFA, for political interference.
They were included in the official draw by CAF on the condition that the suspension must be lifted two weeks before their first games in the qualifiers.
The two countries have, however, failed to meet the criteria required by the FIFA Congress as a prerequisite for lifting their suspension.
“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 for the final tournament,” it said.
