The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has formally challenged a decision by the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) to record Kenya’s abandoned 2026 CECAFA U-17 Women’s Championship opener against Sudan as a 3-0 victory despite Kenya leading 16-0 when the match was stopped.
In a letter dated June 17, 2026, addressed to CECAFA’s Executive Director, FKF has rejected the ruling and requested a review, arguing that the decision unfairly penalizes Kenya and could significantly affect the final Group A standings.
The controversy stems from a match played on June 16 at KMC Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. According to CECAFA, the game was abandoned in the 54th minute after Sudan were left with fewer than seven players on the field and had exhausted all their substitutes.
At the time of the stoppage, Kenya’s U-17 women’s team was leading 16-0.
Why CECAFA ruled Kenya 3-0 despite 16-0 lead
Following a meeting of the CECAFA Organizing Committee, officials cited Article 16.4 of the tournament regulations, which states that if a team abandons a match for any reason, the team shall be deemed to have lost 3-0 and may face further sanctions.
The committee subsequently ruled that Kenya would be awarded three points and a 3-0 victory, rather than retaining the 16-0 scoreline.
In its decision, CECAFA stated that because Sudan had fewer than seven players on the field and the full 90 minutes had not been completed, Kenya would be declared the winner “by 3 points and 3 goals.”
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The regional body said the decision was made after seeking advice from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), describing the incident as a rare case in football competitions.
“Following the exhaustion of substitutes and that the Sudan Women’s team has on the field less than 7 players, as recommended by the laws of the game and the regular time [90 minutes] has not been consumed, the CECAFA Organizing Committee decided to declare the Kenya Women’s team the Winner by 3 points and 3 goals,” CECAFA said.
“The decision was taken after requesting advice from CAF Competitions Department because it’s a unique and rare case in football competitions and the goal of the tournament is to promote Women’s football development.”
FKF Seeks Review After CECAFA Downgrades Kenya’s 16-Goal Win Over Sudan to 3-0
However, FKF argued that Kenya should not be punished for goals already scored before the abandonment.
“At the time of the abandonment, Kenya had scored 16 goals against none by the opposing team. Kenya was not responsible for the abandonment and as such should not be punished for scoring the number of goals we scored,” FKF wrote.
The federation further argued that CECAFA’s own tie-breaker regulations place importance on goal difference and goals scored, which makes the reduction of Kenya’s tally potentially decisive in determining final group positions.
FKF claimed that removing 13 goals from Kenya’s record effectively benefits a rival team, Tanzania, in the race for top spot.
“Scrapping goals at the expense of one team (Kenya) and to the benefit of another team (Tanzania) where the goals are to be used as a tie-breaker is not only unfair but unjust,” the federation stated.
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FKF also referenced Article 64 of CAF regulations, which it says provides that a team responsible for a match abandonment loses 3-0 unless the opponent had already achieved a more advantageous result at the time of interruption, in which case that score should be maintained.
The federation also cited Article 16.7 of the CECAFA regulations, which allows the organizing committee to decide whether the score at the time of abandonment should stand or the match be replayed.
“Both CECAFA and CAF regulations grant the committee powers to uphold the results as at the time of the abandonment, considering that more than three goals were scored by Kenya,” FKF said.
The federation has requested that CECAFA review its decision and maintain the original 16-0 scoreline “in the spirit of fair play and for the integrity of the competition.”
The ruling means Tanzania currently finishes top of Group A on goal difference, while Kenya is placed second despite its dominant performance against Sudan.
The starlets had finished at the top of Group A of the CECAFA U-17 Women’s Championship following a thrilling 1-1 draw against the hosts Tanzania on Wednesday.
