The Organising Committee for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations has disqualified Kenya from the 2017 edition for fielding five ineligible players in their First Round 1st leg clash against Sudan played on Sunday, 3 April 2016 at the El Merreikh Stadium, which ended 1-1.

The five players are:
Erick Ouma Otieno, born on 27/9/1996;
Nicholas Kipkirui, born on 31/5/1996;
Boniface Muchiri, born on 23/8/1996;
Eugene Moses Mukangula, born on 22/6/1996;
Theodore Kibet Kilele, born on 25/9/1996

This is contrary to a circular sent to all National Associations that players born on 1 January 1997 or after are eligible to participate in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Zambia 2017.

“The Organizing Committee after its findings concluded that the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) clearly violated article 40.11 of the competition regulations which states: ‘a team which allows a non-qualified or a suspended player to take part in a direct knock-out match shall lose the match and shall be eliminated from the competition, even in the absence of protests’.

“Consequently, the U-20 Kenyan National team is disqualified from the preliminaries of the AFCON U20 – Zambia 2017 and the U20 Sudan National team is qualified to the next round,” CAF General Secretary Hicham El Amrani said in a letter dated 19 April 2015 addressed to the CEO of FKF.

Meanwhile, the decision can be contested before CAF Appeal Board within three days of notification.

Cafonline