Guinea have left Kenya without kicking a ball

Fifa slapped an indefinite suspension on Kenya on Wednesday because of alleged government interference in the affairs of the Kenya Football Federation.

The two sides were due to meet in Nairobi on Saturday in the first match of the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Guinea team officials sympathised with Kenya having suffered an identical punishment themselves for two years in 2000.

"It is very painful for the country to be sidelined from international football. It will take a long process to reconstruct the game afresh," an unnamed Guinean official said.

"The players get disorientated and getting them to regroup is not easy."

He said Guinea was lucky to get back into the fold and qualify for the 2004 African Nations Cup finals in Tunisia because most of their players stayed in competitive form by playing in professional football in European clubs.

The official said they were disappointed not to play Kenya.

"It would have been a good warm-up for us before we host Tunisia in Conakry on June 20," he added.