Namibia was excluded from the draw which took place in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last week.

The Championship, which is scheduled to be held in the Democratic Republic of Congo in December next year, will also act as the African qualification event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Speaking to insidethegames, manager of the Namibian under-23 side, Jakes Amaning, revealed the Namibian Football Association (NFA) has launched an investigation into the mix-up but insisted the necessary documentation had been filed with the CAF.

"At the moment we are trying to investigate what went wrong, [whether] it was a problem in our office or in the CAF office," said Amaning.

"We have not found a solution yet.

"Namibia has always competed in all youth competitions but somehow CAF did not receive our application for the Under-23 [tournament].

"But we believe we have applied with the correct documents.

"We have now submitted a letter to CAF asking them to reconsider and find a way to bring us into the competition.

"We are waiting for their answer."

The draw for the qualifying rounds paired Libya with Mauritania; Ghana against Liberia; Botswana versus Kenya; Zimbabwe versus Swaziland; Guinea-Bissau versus Sierra Leone; and Rwanda against Somalia.

Amaning conceded that re-entry into the competition may not be possible but he remains hopeful a resolution may be found.

"It will be difficult for them [CAF] because the draw is already done but we are very hopeful that CAF can find a solution," added Amaning, who said he expects a decision to be made by the end of the week.

"We have already been training hard and [spent two weeks] in Ghana on a training tour."

Namibia did not qualify for the finals of the inaugural Under-23 Championship held in Morocco in 2011.

Gabon defeated hosts Morocco in the final and qualified for London 2012 alongside third-placed side Egypt.

Insidethegames has contacted CAF for a comment but is still awaiting a response.

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