By Osasu Obayiuwana BBC Sport

Champagne says Kenya's sports minister has been intransigent

World football's governing body Fifa has warned that Kenya could be banned from playing in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.

Fifa deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne told BBC Sport in Zurich that the sanction could be imposed if the country's government continues to put obstacles in the way of electing a new executive for the Kenyan Football Federation (KFF).

Earlier this month, Fifa ruled that the present KFF board remains the legitimate authority in charge of Kenyan football after a court action stopped them from organising elections for a new executive.

The time has come for us to make a final decision Fifa's Jerome Champagne

"We have been very patient about the situation in Kenya but the time has come for us to make a final decision on the situation there," Champagne told BBC Sport.

"If the crisis affecting football in Kenya is not resolved soon, there is a serious possibility that they could be banned from the World Cup.

"We really do not want to apply this sanction, because it is the innocent football players and fans in Kenya that will suffer as a result but we could be left with no other option," Champagne said.

Kenya risk a ban from the 2006 World Cup qualifiers

The Fifa deputy general secretary claims the refusal of sports minister Najib Balala to play a positive role in resolving the problems of Kenyan football is responsible for the current impasse.

"We have tried to enter dialogue with the sports minister, who visited Fifa House in the past and had a detailed discussion with our president regarding the problems there.

"While we appreciate the fact that several governments in Africa fund football, we cannot compromise on the implementation of our statutes which guarantee the independence of national associations from the government."