As CAS Rejects Namibia’s Bid …. As CAS Rejects Namibia’s Bid

Namibia’s bid to replace Burkina Faso at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations has been turned down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS on a technicality.

The CAS has upheld the ruling of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and Burkina Faso will be allowed to compete in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Namibia appealed against Burkina Faso’s use of Cameroon-born defender Herve Zengue in the 2012 qualifiers, but a CAF source has disclosed that their case has been rejected on a technicality.

The complaint on match-day was not counter-signed by the Burkina Faso captain, as per CAF regulations.

Namibia had hoped to have the results of the matches between the two countries, which they lost, overturned and awarded to them with 3-0 scorelines, which would have resulted in them finishing top of their qualification pool.

Zengue did not qualify to play for Burkina Faso, having not met Fifa’s requirements to switch allegiance to another country, as he had gained his Burkinabe citizenship through marriage.

Fifa statutes state that a player may only switch to another country if: (a) he was born on the territory of the relevant Association; (b) his biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant Association; (c) his grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant Association; (d) he has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant Association.

Zengue met none of these criteria, but Namibia’s complaint was twice dismissed by CAF on the same technicality – that the complaint on match-day was not counter-signed by the Burkina Faso captain.

Zengue has since been dropped by Burkina Faso for the 2012 tournament; an acknowledgement that he is not eligible, along with another suspect player, Stephane Agbre.