The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has suspended Kenya from its youth competitions for two years, after it allowed overage players to compete in an under-17 match against Ghana.
The CAF decision was taken at a meeting of its executive committee in Johannesburg. The ruling affects all of Kenya's youth team categories from under-age-21 on down. Kenya Football Federation general secretary Hussein Swaleh was also banned for two years for helping bring African football into disrepute.
Kenya's sports minister, Najib Balala, disbanded his country's under-17 team in February, after he admitted Kenya had used at least one overage player on the team that eliminated Ghana, 3-2.
The decision to ban Kenya from all Africa youth competitions for two years has drawn a sharp reaction from top Kenyan sports administrators. Kenya National Sports Council chairman Joshua Okuthe said the decision was unfair to the players, because the mistake was made by the sports officials.