The Rwanda Football Federation (FERWFA) has said they will send an appeal to CAF after they were disqualified from the 2015 Africa Cup of nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

“We are certainly going to appeal. We shall meet with some lawyers and send the appeal,” Olivier Muhindahabi, the Rwanda FA Secretary General said in Kigali.

Rwanda has until midnight (tonight)  to lodge the appeal to the CAF appeal board against the decision.

On Sunday CAF disqualified Rwanda after the Congo FA protested during the first leg match of the second round of qualifiers played against Rwanda on 20 July 2014 in Pointe-Noire.

File Photo: Nigerian defender Elderson Echiejile (R) vies for the ball with a Rwandan player during the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualification match between the two countries in Calabar on June 16, 2012. Nigeria defeated Rwanda 2 – 0 to advance to the third qualifying round where they will meet fellow second round qualifers and the 16 teams that competed for 2012 African Cup of Nations held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. AFP PHOTO

“We feel we have a chance to have the decision overturned because we did not take part in the player’s change of name,” reasoned Mulindahabi. Interestingly CAF cleared Rwanda over the same player when Libya complained questioning the player’s nationality.

The AS Vita player had been instrumental in the elimination of Libya after he scored a hattrick in the 3-0 home win. Against Congo, he featured in the team that suffered a 2-0 away defeat but was unavailable for the return leg in Kigali that Rwanda won via penalty shootout.

The player at the centre of the controversy is said to have two passports, one for Rwanda, under the name Daddy Birori, born December 12, 1986, and a Congolese (DR Congo) passport, in which he is identified as Agiti Tady Etekiama, born December 13, 1990.