South Africa v Guinea off

The World Cup Group E qualifier between South Africa and Guinea in Port Elizabeth on March 10 has been formally cancelled.

A South African Football Association spokesman said the top-of-the-table clash in the Eastern Cape city was called off on the orders of Fifa.

Guinea were barred from international football last Friday after several vain attempts to persuade sports minister Abdelkader Sangare to reinstate executive committee members fired after a series of poor results.

The national junior team did not play Nigeria in the under-17 Cup of Nations final at the weekend because of the ban and also relinquished their place at the world tournament in Trinidad and Tobago during September.

South Africa lead Group E with nine points, Guinea have seven, Zimbabwe three, Malawi two and Burkina Faso one.

However, Guinea's future in the group, even if they bow to Fifa's demands soon, would be up for debate by the world governing body.