Swaziland withdraws from African Nations Cup

Due to financial constraints, Swaziland has withdrawn from the 2013 African Nations Cup, it was announced on Sunday. The announcement came just a week before Swaziland was due to play the first leg of a preliminary round match, according to the country's football association. Swaziland was scheduled to meet the Seychelles in a first round tie on Jan. 6-20. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) would probably impose a fine on the kingdom for the withdrawal, according to News24, a news outlet in Cape Town. Swaziland would also face the possibility of being banned from the 2015 tournament. The qualifying competition for next year's African Nations Cup in South Africa starts less than two weeks before the 2012 finals, which are being played in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon from January 21-February 14. From next year, the biennial tournament will shift from even to odd years to avoid clashing with the World Cup. Historically, two-thirds of Swazi government revenues have come from a regional customs union dominated by South Africa, but that money dried up in a 2009 South African recession. Last October, Swaziland announced that it would seek help from Egypt to resolve a liquidity crisis.