The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has disqualified Chad from the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) taking place next year.

The African football ruling body made the decision on Monday following the country’s ministry of youths and sports’ suspension of the country’s football federation, BBC reports.

Announcing the suspension via a statement, CAF said: “Following the suspension of the Chadian Football Federation by the Chadian Ministry of Youth and Sports, CAF has decided to disqualify the national team of Chad from the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations 2021.”

The suspension reiterates CAF’s disapproval of political interference in football across the continent which the body has backed up by rules.

The suspension means that Chad, who already have no hope of qualifying and are currently bottom of Group A, will no longer execute the remainder of their upcoming AFCON 2021 preliminary matches against Namibia and Mali.

Both Mali who have already qualified, and Namibia hence, will be automatically gifted 3-0 victories and 3 points. 

Mali currently tops Group A with 13 points from five matches, followed by second placed Guinea with eight points from four games.

Guinea needs to defeat Mali on Wednesday to qualify for the tournament. A different result however will see them play a qualification decider away against Namibia on Sunday.