FIFA made a press release yesterday announcing Mauritius has withdrawn from qualifying, less then 2 weeks ahead of the start of Round 1 in African qualifying. No reason is given for the withdrawal although African teams dropping out of tournaments suddenly is not an uncommon occurrence. Rather then restructure qualifying this late, Mauritius' Round 1 opponent Liberia has been advanced to Round 2. Liberia will compete in Group 10 of Round 2, along with Angola, Senegal and Uganda.
November previews starting tomorrow.
UPDATE: Sounds as if money is the culprit as it often is with small nations. Mauritius unwilling to incur the costs affiliated with hosting a match and flying team, coaches and officials to Liberia for a match.
You may recall I was very critical of Bahamas for withdrawing due to financial issues. I'm not in this case however. Financial concerns are legitimate for many countries. Mauritius decided before qualifying began that the costs involved combined with the low likelihood of qualifying (or even advancing from this round) made playing these games a losing endeavour. Bahamas on the other hand defeated an opponent and advanced a round before deciding to drop out, a slap in the face to the team they eliminated.
Only team with a potential gripe in this case would be Mozambique. Mozambique was seeded 29th before the Preliminary Draw and is the top seeded team in Round 1. Had Mauritius not entered qualifying at all, Mozambique would have been advanced straight to Round 2. However, with the pairings already set, adjustments can't be made at this point so advancing Liberia was the fair solution. Mozambique meets Comoros in Round 1 and should have no trouble advancing anyway.
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