Guinea stalemate reaches climax

Guinea could be stopped from playing S Africa on March 10

The row between Guinea and Fifa reaches its climax today with the world football governing threatening to take punitive action unless the government re-instates the dissolved Football Association.

The Fifa President Sepp Blatter, speaking at the on-going African Under-17 Football Tournament in Seychelles earlier this week, told the BBC that the Guinean government must first re-instate the dismissed FA by Friday 2nd March or face being banned.

Guinea is a sovereign country. Fifa is not going to tell us whether we can replace Guineans with Guineans or not

  Sports Minister Sangare

Mr Blatter made it clear that Fifa did not accept the new FA that was quickly elected after the dismissal of the previous one.

After the Sports Minister Abdelkader Sangare dissolved the FA in January (following a series of poor results,) the FA did some housecleaning by electing new executive members in a bid to avert an outright Fifa ban.

But this has obviously not convinced Fifa that the government was not interfering in the running of football in Guinea.

Deadlock

Mr Blatter refuses to accept the new FA

Mr Blatter insists that only after the re-instatement of the old FA could a new congress be convened to either retain the old FA or elect a completely new one.

Reacting to the Fifa president's statements, the Guinea Sports Minister Sangare told the BBC French Service on Wednesday that Guinea as a sovereign country would not be dictated to by Fifa.

"Guinea is a sovereign country. Fifa is not going to tell us whether we can replace Guineans with Guineans or not," he said.

He added that he was prepared to face sanctions as it would be for the greater good of football in his country.

Implications

West Ham's Guinean star Titi Camara could miss making any impact in the World Cup games

"The Sylli National" as the Guinean team is called is currently placed second in their World Cup qualifying group E, two points behind the group leaders South Africa, who they are due to play, in Port Elizabeth on the 10th of March.

A Fifa ban would immediately affect the country's participation in the qualifying series for the 2002 World Cup.

A Fifa spokesman also told the BBC a ban would prevent the Guinean youth side to play Nigeria in the final of the Under-17 African Cup of Nations on Saturday.

Guinea and Nigeria, together with either Mali or Burkina Faso, are expected to represent Africa at the Fifa World Under-17 Football Tournament scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago in September.