Kefwa pleads with CAF to reinstate Kenya vs Uganda match

The Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (KEFWA) has pleaded with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), to reinstate the women's football team in the qualifiers for this year’s Africa Women Cup of Nations, (AWCON).

A letter written by an official from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to CAF last week claimed the women's team had withdrawn and, therefore, forfeited the tie.

"KEFWA and FIFPRO, the global player union have written to CAF to urgently overturn this decision so that players do not face the "devastating consequences" of a situation that has nothing to do with them," read the statement in part.

Secretary General Jerry Santo further explained how if the match isn't reinstated, many hearts will be broken and dreams shattered.

"The dream of every footballer is to play in a World Cup and for this opportunity to be taken away from these players without any effort to reach a solution is heartbreaking," said the KEFWA Secretary General.

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However, Cabinet Secretary for sports Amina Mohamed said no such request was authorised and claimed that the letter was fraudulent.

Amina further termed the move by FKF chief executive officer Barry Otieno 'treasonable'. "The move to write the letter is treasonable. What happened was extremely unfortunate and I hope everybody that is involved is regretting the decision."

It will be the second time starlets will play in AWCON should the decision be reversed and they qualify. Starlets made a maiden appearance in the biannual event in 2016 in Cameroon. Current assistant coach Ann Aluoch was the captain then.

Should CAF stick with their ruling, Uganda will become the first team to join hosts Morocco for the final phase of the tournament. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations will bring together 12 of the continent's best teams.