The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football has handed The Gambia a two-year suspension from all CAF organised competitions for fielding ineligible players in a match.

The decision was reached as a follow-up on the African U20 Championship Organising Committee’s findings that The Gambia had fielded five ineligible players in a qualifying match against Liberia in April.

The suspension comes in line with Article 37 Paragraph 1 of the African U20 Championship which states that “for any deliberate intention to foul or cheat in any matter involving the falsification of documents, the defaulting association shall be suspended for two years from all CAF competitions”.

The five ineligible players were born in 1994, which goes against the regulations for the 2014 African Championship which is only eligible for players born on or after January 1 1995.

As a result of the suspension, The Gambia will not take part in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and hence, miss the main tournament in 2015. The Gambia will also miss the 2016 Africa Nations Championship.