Caf lifts one-match ban on Hassan Kessy

Dar es Salaam. The national soccer team Taifa Stars technical bench members must be rubbing their hands with glee as the Confederation of African Football (Caf) has lifted a one-match ban on defender Hassan Ramadhan Kessy.

The new development means Kessy, who plays for Zambia’s Nkana FC, will feature for Taifa Stars in their opening match at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Egypt.

Taifa Stars and Senegal’s Lions of Teranga face off tomorrow in the Group C match at the 30 June Stadium in Egypt.

Caf allowed Kessy to feature for Stars in the eagerly awaited clash after it found out that then ban had expired, according to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF),

TFF said in a statement availed to The Citizen yesterday that Caf’s decision stems from the fact that the player missed the Afcon qualifier against Cape Verde, at the National Stadium.

The national football governing body said Kessy – coach Emmanuel Amunike’s first-choice fullback right defender – is now free to feature for the team, clearing the controversy that had surrounded the matter.

Kessy, who joined Mtibwa Sugar from Moro Kida Academy a few years ago before joining Simba, boasts vast international exposure.

He also featured for Young Africans before leaving for Zambia to join Nkana FC – one of the top teams in Zambia.

Taifa Stars are now camping in Egypt ahead of the match.

Other defenders in Amunike’s 23-man squad include Ali “Sonso” Mtoni, Kelvin Yondani, Gadiel Michael, Mohammed Hussein, Phillipo, Erasto Nyoni and David Mwantika.

Amunike was quoted as saying from Cairo yesterday that his players were in high spirits, raring to give the Lions of Teranga a real run for their money in tomorrow’s clash.

Taifa Stars arrived in Egypt on June 7 for residential camp ahead of the Afcon finals.

Early this week, Amunike was forced to drop defender Aggrey Morris from his squad after he suffered a knee injury.

He has been replaced by Azam FC defender, David Mwantika.