2023-08-24 21:26:22
Already qualified for CAN 2023, Senegal faces Rwanda on September 9 as part of the last day of the qualifiers before receiving Algeria on September 12 for a prestigious friendly match.
Problem: after having initially agreed with its Rwandan counterpart to play the first leg of the qualifications, initially planned outside, in the country of Teranga and the return to Kigali by reversing the order of the two meetings, the Senegalese Federation football (FSF) has changed its mind and also wants to play the return home. Despite the absence of stakes (the Amavubi are eliminated), this request was rejected by the Rwandan Federation (Ferwafa) and the FSF therefore seized the African Football Confederation through a letter sent on Tuesday to claim to maintain the domiciliation of the return match in Senegal.
“During the first leg (Rwanda vs Senegal) of June 07, 2022, the Rwandan Football Federation had asked the FSF to hold this meeting in Dakar and the return match Senegal vs Rwanda scheduled for September 2023 in Kigali. The Senegalese Football Federation had given its agreement in principle to help Rwanda out of solidarity at its request in view of its difficulties linked to the absence of an approved stadium in its country. An agreement in principle does not mean a contractual commitment with an obligation. The FSF had therefore not made a commitment in the contractual, obligatory sense, because Senegal had no interest or any sporting or financial counterpart whatsoever in the operation, but it was driven by a spirit of solidarity to allow the sister Federation preserve their chances of qualifying. The FSF had itself borne all the costs of organizing the first leg of June 07, 2022.“, first recalls the correspondence.
Senegal: with 3 new L1 players against Algeria? pic.twitter.com/wEF0XewCaI
— Afrik-Foot (@afrikfoot) August 18, 2023
“In the meantime, the situation and the context have evolved”
“But in the meantime, the situation and the context have evolved on several levels: CAF has changed the schedule of the playoffs by introducing in the September window a date for a friendly match for which the FSF has made an official commitment with Algeria“, first recalled the reigning African champions. “At the sporting level, match 5 of the CAN 2023 qualifiers no longer has any sporting stakes NOR for Senegal or for Rwanda. The right for Senegal to organize match 5 stems from both the competition regulations and the draw made by CAF and no one can legally force an association to renounce this right and more decisively, article 16 of the CAN regulations provide for only one exception to the principle of round-trip matches: the agreement of the two (2) associations to play their two (2) matches in the same place. Also, despite attempts at conciliation between the two Presidents and the two Secretaries General of federations, the Rwandan side remains intransigent. As a reminder, Senegal has already communicated its official position to CAF on its right to organize this match at home.”
“In witness of all this, the Senegalese Football Federation reiterates the pure and simple application of the Regulations by the programming of match 5 in Senegal“, concluded the Senegalese, sure to be in their right. CAF’s response is expected in the coming days.
The letter from the FSF
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