CAF disqualifies Equatorial Guinea from women’s AFCON

The CAF Organising Committee for Women’s Football has disqualified Equatorial Guinea from November’s Women African Cup of Nations in Cameroon after being found guilty of fraud, using a player who possessed two different passports with contrasting details.

In addition, the West Africans are suspended from the next two editions, namely 2018 and 2020.

Mali who lost 3-2 on aggregate to Equatorial Guinea had lodged a formal protest to CAF over the player in question, Camila Nobre do Carmo Oliviera who featured in both legs of the match.

According to a CAF statement on their official website, the decision was based on Article 43 of the regulations of the competition which states “If CAF is informed, no matter the source, that a fraud or a forgery was committed by any means and /or support whatsoever by one or more national team(s), an investigation will be opened”.

The regional governing body conducted independent investigations and found out the player was registered for the 2014 Women AFCON as Camila Maria Nobre Carmo with a 7th October 1994 birth date.

For the 2016 qualifiers, her passport showed a different birth date, that of 10th June 1998 and bearing a different name, that of Camila Nobre do Carmo Oliviera.

In its defense, the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation (FEGUIFUT) admitted that it is the same player, adding “the Equatorial Guinean authority responsible for the issuance of passports committed an error by registering a different date of birth and name, and the error was corrected on the new passport of the player issued in September 2015”.

CAF states that the Committee concluded that it was the duty of the Federation to inform CAF of the changes in the records of the player regarding her registration for the Women AFCON 2014 and that of 2016.

Also, the Federation did not ask CAF to modify the data of the player; rather a new registration was done. The committee further ruled that the participation of the player in against Mali is considered illegal.

The player had also been suspended from the Olympic Qualifiers by FIFA for using two different passports.

The sanction by FIFA, CAF says proved that Equatorial Guinea was guilty of fraud due to the different information relating to the identity of the player.

Kenya’s Harambee Stars is preparing for their debut in the African nations Cup and Mali will now be one of their probable opponents among the eight teams which have qualified.

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