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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe national football team will be involved in the draw for the 2023 AFCON qualifiers set to be conducted next Tuesday despite the current FIFA suspension.
The organisers of the competition have extended the window for both Zimbabwe and Kenya who were recently suspended from international football by FIFA.
The two nations were barred from participating in any football competition following what the Zurich-based body claimed to be “third party interference” in the running of football affairs of the associations.
Despite the recent confirmation of the suspensions by the FIFA Congress, the Confederation of African Football have indicated that the window was still open for them but on condition they satisfy the terms set by FIFA and get readmitted into the international football family at least two weeks before the kick-off of the upcoming qualifying matches.
The first two match days of the qualifiers are set to take place between May 30 and June 14.
CAF said in a statement that Zimbabwe and Kenya were among the 48 teams that were eligible for the second round draw of the AFCON qualifiers but could only participate in the games based on the set out conditions.
“Reference to the suspension of Kenya and Zimbabwe by FIFA from all football activities, in case the suspension is not lifted two (2) weeks before their first match day of the qualifiers; both associations will be considered as losers and eliminated from the competition.
“Consequently, their groups will be composed of 3 teams. The first and runner-up teams of those groups will qualify to the final tournament.
“Consequently, the two teams (Kenya and Zimbabwe) cannot be drawn in the same group in order to avoid having one group with only two teams in case the suspension on both associations is not lifted,” said the CAF statement.
The seeding for the draw was based on the FIFA official ranking issued on March 31, where Zimbabwe were placed 32nd in Africa. For the draw, the Warriors were placed in Pot Three while Kenya are in Pot Two.
There will be 12 Groups of four teams (Group A to L) for the qualifiers. The first ball will be drawn from Pot Four and will go to position A4.
The procedure will be repeated for the remaining teams of Pot 4 who will go to positions B4, C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, H4, 14, 34, K4 and L4 according to the draw order.
The same procedure as above will be repeated for Pot 3, Pot 2 and finally Pot 1. The first and the runner up of the 11 groups where the 2023 AFCON hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, are playing will qualify to the final tournament.
Zimbabwe, however, are sure not to take part in the upcoming competition after the local sports regulatory body, the Sports and Recreation Commission, have made it clear they will only be able to approach FIFA after completing a thorough clean-up in the administration of the game.
ZIFA were suspended by FIFA for “third party interference” after the Sports Commission had suspended the bungling ZIFA board led by Felton Kamambo in November last year.
The suspended board faced several allegations which included lack of transparency with public funds, maladministration, bribery, vote-buying during election time and the sexual harassment of female referees.
Kamambo and some of his lieutenants like Philemon Machana, who was the Board Member Finance, and suspended chief executive officer, Joseph Mamutse, have been arraigned before the courts and are facing criminal offences that include fraud and bribery.
FIFA had said as part of the conditions for Zimbabwe’s suspension to be lifted, the Sports Commission had to reverse their decision and reinstate the suspended ZIFA board, and facilitate the withdrawal of the court cases, among other demands.
However, the Sports Commission have said they will not stop at anything in the efforts to bring order in football and have set up a Restructuring Committee as part of the “strategic roadmap towards addressing the issues that have affected football management and administration”.
The Committee was given until December 31 to execute their mandate.
Just like their Zimbabwean counterparts, the Kenyan authorities have also been categorical that they will only engage FIFA when they have ”cleared the mess” within FKF.
Kenya attracted the wrath of FIFA after the KFK national executive committee was disbanded by the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Amina Mohamed, for “fiscal mismanagement by the Nick Mwendwa administration”.
Consequently, Mwendwa was arraigned in court and ordered to stay away from the FKF office, not speak to the press, and distance himself from any football activities in the country.
The interim body appointed to assume the FKF’s functions will cease to exist as its six-month mandate is set to expire in May. One of the duties of the Aaron Ringera committee was to formulate a new path for new elections.
Online Reporter