FIFA lifts Zimbabwe football ban
Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has had its 18-month suspension lifted by FIFA just a few days prior to the draw for the African qualification competition for the 2026 World Cup, officials announced on Monday.
To oversee ZIFA’s affairs until new management is elected, an interim normalisation committee has been established.
The global governing body suspended Zimbabwe in February 2022 due to perceived government interference in the troubled football association’s operations.
In November 2021, the executive committee of ZIFA was ordered to disband by the Sports and Recreation Commission, a government-appointed body, following allegations of misappropriation of funds provided by the state for Zimbabwe’s participation in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Although Zimbabwe participated in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, they were prohibited from participating in the preliminaries for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast.
“FIFA’s Council Bureau has decided to lift the suspension imposed on the Zimbabwe Football Association in February 2022 and immediately appoint a normalisation committee,” confirmed FIFA in a statement on Monday.
In addition to their daily responsibilities, the normalisation committee will also “examine the ZIFA Statutes and Electoral Code to ensure compliance with FIFA’s requirements and statutes, and ensure their adoption by the ZIFA Congress.”
The local administrator Lincoln Mutasa will serve as the chairperson of the normalisation committee, and they are expected to fulfill their duties by June 2024.
The draw for the African qualifiers for the upcoming World Cup will take place at the CAF Congress, officially commencing in Abidjan on Thursday.
The first set of fixtures will be played in November.
FIFA lifts Zimbabwe football ban
