The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) is celebrating Fifa’s lifting of an 18-month ban, just days before the 2026 World Cup qualification draw in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Thursday.
In a statement on Monday, the global football governing body confirmed that Zifa’s suspension has been lifted and that a normalisation committee has been appointed.
Zimbabwe was suspended in February 2022 following the government’s interference in the running of the troubled football association.
“The bureau of the Fifa council decided to lift the suspension that was imposed on the Zimbabwe Football Association in February 2022 and appoint a normalisation committee with immediate effect,” Fifa said.
“The normalisation committee will have the following duties:
- to run the daily affairs of Zifa;
- to restructure the Zifa administration;
- to establish, with the help of Fifa, a collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Sport/the SRC [Sports and Recreation Commission] and Zifa, which will define the responsibilities and objectives of each party, including [but not exclusively] on the topic of sexual harassment;
- to review the Zifa statutes and electoral code to ensure their compliance with the Fifa statutes and requirements, and to ensure their adoption by the Zifa congress;
- to act as an electoral committee to organise and conduct elections of a new Zifa board based on the newly aligned Zifa statutes and electoral code; and
- to ensure a proper financial handover to the new Zifa board.
“The period of time during which the normalisation committee will perform its functions will expire as soon as it has fulfilled all of its duties, but by 30 June 2024 at the latest.”
FIFA has lifted the ZIFA suspension imposed in February 2022 and appointed a normalisation committee.
The Zimbabwe national team will now be part of the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers draw. 🇿🇼⚽️#FIFAWCQ2026 | @iDiskiTimes pic.twitter.com/CxmiQz1i8f
— Lorenz Köhler (@Lorenz_KO) July 10, 2023
Zimbabwe’s suspension resulted in the country not participating in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and ultimately missing out on the prestigious continental competition that will be staged in Ivory Coast in January.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
