Sudan has been suspended from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) after failing to send a team to the latest regional competition in Rwanda.

The decision to suspend Sudan was announced by an upset Cecafa chairman Farah Addo, after the Council's general assembly in Kigali on Friday.

"Since 1999, Sudan has not participated in any of our regional competitions", said Addo.

"They have not paid their membership for the last three years and they have been absent from all our meetings".

Sudan, which had a good spell of results in World Cup qualifying, is the only Cecafa country absent from the 2001 Challenge Cup which kicked off on Saturday afternoon.

Addo, who is also the vice-president of the Confederation of African Football, told BBC Sport Online, "Some football officials in our region are really not serious, they are not here for the sport but for their own personal - sometimes political - ambitions".

Discipline

Kenya is also facing suspension from the regional football body.

"The Kenyans are being given until 7 January to pay fees they owe to referees and officials after organising the Cecafa club competition earlier this year", he said.

The Kenyan FA currently facing sanctions from the Ministry of Sport for mismanagement.

Several FA officials have already been suspended by a committee investigating the state of its finances.

"If they don't have the will to be disciplined and professional as we try to rebuild football in East Africa, they can stay at home", Mr Addo ended.