Sao Tomé and Príncipe have been booted out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers following the successful appeal of Mauritius against the former for fielding an ineligible Player during a preliminary qualifying round match.
The Confederation of African Football’s Disciplinary Committee received official complaints from Mauritius that Sao Tome and Principe allowed a player who tested positive for COVID-19 feature in their preliminary qualifying match, between the teams.
CAF proceeded with the draw for the AFCON qualifiers in April, with the caveat that, the eventual winner of that petition will enter Group A along with Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau.
In an NFF statement, Monday, a CAF official communicated the Governing Body’s decision on the petition and changes made to the AFCON qualifying draw outcome.
The statement reads in part:
The Director of Competitions of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Mr Samson Adamu has confirmed to thenff.com that Mauritius won a case it filed against Sao Tomé and Príncipe concerning their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifying fixture, and will therefore join the combatants in Group A of the qualification series starting next month.
The matter became somewhat more interesting because the player at the centre of the controversy is the one that scored the only goal of the match.
Meanwhile, with the ruling it means the Seleção’s wait to reach the AFCON since 1976 suffers another set back.
