Man City’s £7m deal for McDonald Mariga falls through

Mariga played in Sweden before joining Parma in 2007

Manchester City’s £7m deal to buy Parma midfielder McDonald Mariga has fallen through after the Kenyan international was not granted a work permit.

Mariga, who has 24 caps for Kenya, met the criteria for appearing in 75% of internationals in the last two years.

But his application was rejected as Kenya are ranked 98th in Fifa’s world rankings, outside the top 70 nations.

City attended an appeal at Wembley on Monday morning but failed to overturn the decision about the 22-year-old.

They can request a further appeal in a future transfer window but will not be able to register Mariga as a player in the current window.

A delegation from Eastlands travelled to the appeal to argue their case in front of a panel made up of representatives from the Football Association, Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association, as well as some ‘independent football experts’ – usually ex-players.

606: DEBATE It seems a shame that a talented youngster with potential can’t get a permit dazzlingdublinblue

But they were unable to convince the appeal board of Mariga’s merits, and his hopes of becoming the first Kenyan to play in the Premier League are on hold.

Mariga joined Parma on a permanent basis in the summer of 2008, after initially moving on loan from Swedish side Helsingborgs, and is under contract with the Serie A outfit until June 2012.