By Aubrey Sumbuleta BBC Sport

It 's been 12 years since Kenya qualified for the Nations Cup

Sports minister Najib Balala has told the Kenyan Football Federation (KFF) he will not be deterred from sacking the board for its role in the U-17 age cheating scandal.

World football governing body Fifa said the East African country risks a two year ban from international football should Balala carry out his threat.

President Sepp Blatter said the Harambee Stars, Kenya's senior national side, could be barred from continuing in the 2004 African Nations Cup qualifiers.

Kenya are at the top of Group 5, ahead of Cape Verde, Togo and Mauritania.

KFF secretary Hussein Swaleh said the minister's intended action could throw the future of Kenyan football into jeopardy.

Despite ousting Eritrea and Ghana in the qualifiers, Balala ordered the Under-17 team to disband.

They would miss their final qualifying match against Ethiopia as a result.

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"We are still investigating the age cheating allegations issue and we will let the world know the outcome," said Swaleh.

"We have support from Caf and Fifa on this and the government's decision [to ban the team] is most unfortunate."