Chainho will not be allowed to play for Angola at the World Cup

The Angolans wanted clarity on the international status of Chainho and Pedro Emanuel.

Both players were born in Angola but played for Portugal's youth team.

"From our point of view, such a change would probably be rejected by the Players' Status Committee as they are older than 21," a Fifa spokesman said.

Since January 2004, players with dual citizenship or nationality who have not played international football above under-23 level have been eligible to apply to change the country they represent, as long as they do it before they are 21.

Porto defender Emanuel, now 31, finally agreed to play for Angola after rejecting several previous offers from the country of his birth after talks with coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves.

Emanuel was a member of the Porto side which won the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Uefa Champions League and Angola had been keen to use him to bolster their defence.

Chainho, who is also 31 was formerly with Benfica and Greek club Panathinaikos, plays at Maritimo.

Last week, Angolan Football Federation vice president Jose Luis Prata travelled to Fifa's Swiss headquarters in Zurich in a last-ditch bid to gain permission for the two players to appear for the World Cup debutants.

In Luanda on Friday, he criticised the age limit of 21 and said he would seek a change in the ruling at the next Fifa Congress in Munich next month.