Tunisia, who won the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in 2011, will not be participating in the 2020 edition holding in Cameroon next April.
The Carthage Eagles are one of the 16 teams qualified for the tournament but following a meeting of the country’s football federation late Friday the decision not to send the local team was reached.
The Tunisian FA said the upcoming CHAN will clash with the domestic league’s calendar and affect the ‘entire football system’.
CHAN is the second tier version of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) but exclusively reserved for local players.
The decision will likely attract consequences from CAF, which is yet to react. Libya, who were knocked out by Tunisia in the qualifiers, could be called to replace the Eagles.
The 16 qualified teams are: Burkina Faso, Cameroon (host), Congo, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia (out), Zambia and Zimbabwe.
