South Africa score with Zimbabwe’s Fifa ban
FAMILIAR FOES: South Africa v Zimbabwe
Bafana Bafana’s kanse for Afcon 2023 qualification got a helse boost after Group K rivals Zimbabwe were booted out of the competition on Tuesday.
The Zimbabwe Football Association had been suspended by world football body Fifa for political interference, but were given the chance to lift the suspension.
But with the qualifiers set to kickoff on June 9, time has run out for Zim and Afcon organisers Caf have upheld the ban on out northern neighbours and Kenya (Group C) .
In a statement, Caf says: “Kenya and Zimbabwe, suspended for political interference, have not yet met the criteria required by the Fifa congress as a prerequisite for lifting their suspension.
Preliminary Bafana Bafana squad for 2023 Afcon qualifiers https://t.co/VD7dfB4Sw5
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) May 16, 2022
“CAF originally included them in the draw in the hope that their administration issues would be sorted out prior to the continental showpiece in Ivory Coast next year.
“However, Zimbabwe who were grouped with Bafana Bafana, Morocco and Liberia, will now drop out of the Afcon 2023 qualifying stages.”
Bafana will fight to qualify from a three-team group, with the top two sides winning passage to the tournament next year.
Having missed out on qualifying for the tournament in Cameroon earlier this year, it couldn’t be easier for coach Hugo Broos to guide his team to the next edition.
JUST IN: With Zimbabwe 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇼 kicked out of the #AFCON2023Q , it means that @BafanaBafana is now in a group of only three nations (Morocco & Liberia) and two teams qualify. That’s supposed to be e….??@SABC_Sport #SABCSport411 https://t.co/P3Yj7HKnGN
— Velile Mnyandu 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 (@Velile_Mnyandu) May 23, 2022
Bafana kick off their campaign with a trip to Morocco on June 9.
They were set to host Zim