Al Masry qualify for CAF Confederation Cup 2nd round
FIFA has suspended Mali from international competition after determining that the government had meddled in its football association’s affairs. Mali are not due to play their next World Cup qualifying match until August.
Egypt outfit Masry booked their place in the second round of the African Confederation Cup qualifiers after their game against Malian side Djoliba was canceled when FIFA suspended the Malian Football Association, the club announced on Friday.
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“Al Masry of Port Said team qualified to the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup after the cancellation of the home game against Djoliba,” read a statement on the Masry’s official website.
Masry lost the first leg game against the Malian side 2-0 in the first round of the African Confederation Cup qualifiers last week and were scheduled to play the second leg game on Saturday.
“The Masry vs. Djoliba game’s supervisor announced that the Egyptian team qualified to the coming round of the Cup after receiving a letter from CAF saying the game had been cancelled,” the team said.
World football’s governing body, FIFA, announced in a statement on Friday that it had suspended all of Mali’s teams and officials from international competition due to government interference.
FIFA said the decision came in response to Mali’s sports minister, Housseini Amion Guindo, having decided to dissolve the executive committee of FEMAFOOT, Mali’s football association, and appoint a provisional committee.
“The suspension will be lifted once ministerial decisions are nullified and the executive committee of FEMAFOOT and its president, Boubacar Baba Diarra, is reinstated,” the statement said. It added that Mali had lost all of its membership rights “with immediate effect and until further notice.”
FIFA’s statutes require that member national associations be allowed to manage their affairs independently and without interference from governments or other third parties.
The decision to suspend Mali was announced just a day after Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar won the Confederation of African Football presidential election, ousting longtime president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon.
