The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has warned the countries participating in the inaugural Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) that fraud and cheating during the qualifiers and tournament will see them banned from the Africa Cup of Nations, according CAF website.

The 2009 CHAN tournament qualifiers which kick off next week will be competed for exclusively by home-based players from CAF member nations.

According to the CHAN regulations any nation found falsifying documents or committing fraud will be banned from all continental activities for two years.

"For any deliberate intention to fraud or cheat by falsifying official documents, the defaulting association shall be suspended for two years from all CAF completions, including the Africa Cup of Nation," article 38 said.

"For any administrative error in the matter of the players' registration without deliberate intention to foul, the concerned association shall be suspended for one year from all CAF competition."

A team that will commit a fraud on a player's identify, his qualification and/or will have a suspended player participate shall be definitively eliminated from the competition by decision of the organizing committee that will pronounce verdict as soon as the incriminated facts would be clearly established, it said.

Meanwhile, a country could face a further three-year ban should an act of fraud be discovered by CAF three months after a match is played.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2008)