FIFA cancels Ethiopia World Cup qualifier

By Mark Ledsom

ZURICH (Reuters) - Ethiopia's hopes of taking part in the 2010 World Cup were dealt a further blow on Friday when FIFA confirmed that it was cancelling a qualifying match against Morocco scheduled for September 7.

The world governing body suspended the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) last month following a long-running row over what FIFA considered the wrongful dismissal of the association's leaders.

"FIFA today confirmed that the match is cancelled due to the current suspension of the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) from international football," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA said that the World Cup organising committee would meet on an unspecified date to decide what effect the cancelled game would have on the situation in Ethiopia's qualifying group.

Ethiopia are currently third in the four-man group which also includes Rwanda and Mauritania.

(Editing by John Mehaffey)