Sports
Sierra Leone disqualified from 2019 Nations Cup
Sierra Leone have been disqualified from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign according to a statement by Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Monday.
The continental football body cites constant government interference in the affairs of the nation’s football federation as reason for the sanction.
The decision was taken by CAF’s Executive Committee in Accra on Friday, but was officially announced on Monday.
CAF’s decision means Kenya and Ghana are assured of first and second place in Sierra Leone’s Group F and have therefore booked their place in next year’s finals.
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The world football governing body, FIFA had initially suspended Sierra Leone from all competitions after it was revealed that the nation’s government was inappropriately interfering with SLFA affairs.
“The CAF Executive Committee at its meeting on Friday, 30 November 2018 in Accra decided on the case of Sierra Leone in the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
“Sierra Leone is disqualified from the qualifiers and all its matches are annulled,” CAF said in a statement on its official website on Monday.
Kenya top Group F with 7 points, followed by Ghana on 6 points, while Ethiopia with one point fail to qualify.
Meanwhile, the venue for the AFCON 2019 is yet to be known, as CAF had stripped Cameroon of the hosting rights over the weekend. The new hosts are yet to be decided.
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