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Ghana FA Cup holders Nania FC have been handed a US$ 1,500 CAF fine and a three-year ban for pulling out of the 2012 Confederation Cup. The continent�s football governing communicated the punishment through the Ghana Football Association last week. �We have told Nania FC about their punishment when CAF wrote to us last week,� Ghana FA Deputy General Secretary Emmanuel Gyimah told MTNFootball.com CAF applied Article 13 of the tournament�s rules and regulations which states: �Withdrawals declared before the start of the competition and until the 1/8th final round inclusive, shall entail a fine of 1500 dollars in addition to losing the engagement fees. �Apart from the financial sanctions, every club withdrawing from the competition after the establishment of the fixtures will be forbidden from participating in all CAF inter-clubs competitions for three years following its withdrawal.� The club, owned and coached by Ghana legend Abedi Pele, explained it had to withdraw due to the lack of funds. �We have received the news from CAF but certainly nobody will be happy with that so we will accept it and work on it to avoid such punishment in future,� the club�s Secretary Isaac Ashong said. Nania FC were scheduled to host Guinean side FC Sequence in the preliminary round first leg tie. The second-tier side made history by becoming the first non-top flight side to win the competition after beating giants Asante Kotoko in May last year to lift the trophy.