AFCON qualifiers: Mauritius wins appeal against Sao Tomé, to play Nigeria

 

Mauritius has won the appeal against Sao Tomé and Príncipe at the CAF disciplinary committee and will join Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

 

According to a statement released by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on Monday, Samson Adamu, CAF’s director of competition, confirmed the decision of the continental football governing body on the case.

 

Sao Tome had won the preliminary tie 4-3 0n aggregate over Mauritius, but the losing side appealed the case before CAF.

 

Mauritius complained that Sao Tome’s Luis Leal had not followed the CAF’s COVID-19 protocol.

 

They added that the Bolivia-based striker, who scored the only goal in the first leg of the tie, was not eligible to play against them because his PCR test dated more than 72 hours before the match, infringing CAF protocol that tests must be from 48 hours.

 

“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 statement read.

 

“Victory for Mauritius at the CAF Disciplinary Committee means they now join Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of the six-match phase that ends in March next year. Nigeria will play Sierra Leone in Abuja on Thursday 9th June and then play Mauritius on Monday 13th June.”

 

Jose Peseiro was recently appointed as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.

 

Peseiro is also to take over the team for the international friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador in preparation for the qualifiers.