Burkina Faso’s president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré has called for an explanation after the Stallions narrowly missed out on a place in the CAF World Cup playoffs, despite a strong qualifying campaign.
Reports from Ouagadougou suggest that president Traoré has also requested a detailed explanation from the country’s Football Federation and CAF regarding how Nigeria advanced ahead of Burkina Faso.
The development has left fans and officials equally puzzled, given the Stallions’ impressive showing in the qualifiers.
Burkina Faso accumulated 21 points in Group A and finished second behind Algeria, but under CAF’s regulations, results against the bottom-placed teams in each group do not count when determining the best four runners-up.
Explainer: Why Nigeria qualified for World Cup playoff despite having fewer points
Since Burkina Faso earned six of their 21 points against Djibouti, who finished last in their group, their adjusted total dropped to 15 points.
Nigeria, on the other hand, finished second in Group C with 17 points but only collected two of those against Zimbabwe, meaning just two were deducted, leaving them with 15 points as well.
The Super Eagles edged Burkina Faso on superior goal difference to clinch the final playoff slot.
After applying the rule, the four best second-placed teams, Gabon, DR Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria, advanced to the playoffs for Africa’s remaining World Cup ticket.
Burkina Faso’s sense of injustice is compounded by the fact that they had to play their early qualifiers away from home due to renovations at the Stade du 4 Août.
Upon their return, they recorded crucial wins, believing they had done enough, only to learn that a fine-print rule had cost them a historic playoff chance.
FKA/JE
Meanwhile, watch highlights of Ghana’s 1-0 win over Comoros in the World Cup qualifiers
