SPORTS REPORTER
FIFA has given the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) up to January 3, 2022 to reinstate the suspended ZIFA board warning of dire consequences as the suspension was ultra vires the world’s soccer governing body’s statutes.
SRC suspended the ZIFA board last month. Last week, SRC appointed a nine-member ZIFA Restructuring Committee chaired by Blessing Rugara which had up to December 31, 2022 to submit its report.
In in a letter dated December 21 to ZIFA general secretary Joseph Mamutse, FIFA’s chief member association Kenny Jean-Marie said the decisions by the SRC to suspend all members of the ZIFA executive committee based on mere allegations without proof of a final and binding ruling was ultra vires FIFA statutory principles and it is the world’s soccer governing body which only has the “powers to remove executive bodies of member associations and appoint normalisation committees”.
“As a consequence, should such decisions be considered by FIFA to constitute undue third-party interference in the internal affairs of ZIFA, the appropriate sanctions may have to be imposed on ZIFA by the competent FIFA body. In such a case, all of Zimbabwean football would suffer the consequences, especially on the eve of the AFCON 2021,” FIFA said.
“Therefore, we kindly ask you to inform the SRC that in the event its decisions to suspend the ZIFA executive committee members and to appoint a “restructuring committee” instead are not reversed before 3 January 2022 at the latest, we would have no other choice but to submit the present matter to the Bureau of FIFA Council for consideration and decision.”
Meanwhile, ZIFA yesterday appointed an AFCON provisional squad which goes into camp on December 23.
The final squad will be announced on December 31.
