BAFANA Bafana's bid to qualify for next year's Africa Cup of Nations will become even more arduous after Rwanda were kicked out of their pool by the Confederation of African Football yesterday for fielding a player using a false identity.

CAF said Rwanda, who had sealed qualification by beating Congo last month to be the fourth team in Group A alongside South Africa, Nigeria and Sudan, fielded a player who had been registered with two names and ages.

The east Africans will now be replaced by Congo in the group, making Bafana's bid to make the finals in Morocco next year even tougher.

"The decision [to disqualify Rwanda] followed a protest made by the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) during the first leg match of the second round of qualifying played against Rwanda on 20 July 2014 in Pointe-Noire," CAF said in a statement posted on its website yesterday.

" Congo protested the eligibility of the player, Birori Dady, aligned with Rwanda, and plays for the AS Vita Club of Kinshasa with a DR Congo passport as Etekiama Agiti Tady, and a different age.

"Following investigations by CAF and on the basis of documents provided by the federations of Rwanda, Congo and DR Congo, CAF established that the two identities only referred to a single person.

"While the Rwandan federation maintained that to their knowledge the player Dady Birori had one identity, investigations revealed that he was summoned as Etekiama Agiti Tady by the national team of Rwanda before."

Rwanda were given the right to appeal.

Bafana will open their qualifying against Sudan on September 6, before taking on Nigeria four days later. They will then travel to Congo in October.