Football Kenya Federation have no intention of appealing against the decision by the continent football governing body CAF to disqualify Kenya under-20 boys team from the preliminary qualification round of the African under-20 championships set for next year in Zambia.
Kenyans were banned from the competition for fielding five ineligible players. That means the crucial 1-1 that the Kenyan lads managed against Sudan in Khartoum three weeks ago will count for nothing.
The federation is cognisant of the fact that the governing body is a fair arbiter for all federations and therefore the decision it has taken has recognised all the steps and future ramifications,” FKF CEO Robert Muthomi revealed.
In an administrative blunder reminiscent of some made by the previous FKF regimes, the federation fielded players born in 1996 against the tacit requirements by CAF that the cut off date of birth for participants remains January 1, 1997. Muthomi, however, tried to deflect the blame insinuating that the rules in age group tournaments are not cast in stone.
“Cut off dates for age restricted tournaments have dynamic regulations. It is important to note that non eligibility is not the same as age cheating,” explained the federation secretary general.
Yesterday Muthomi could not clarify whether the federation had received the rules of eligibility from Caf before hand.
He, however, stated that the match commissioner in charge of the April 3 duel against Sudan had guided them that players born in 1996 were still within the rules to feature in the competition.