The Federations of International Football Association, FIFA, has lifted the 18-month suspension ban on the Zimbabwe Football Association’s (ZIFA) just days before the draw for the African qualification round for the 2026 World Cup, authorities said on Monday.

ZIFA’s activities will be managed by an interim normalisation committee until elections for a new management team are held.

The football governing body suspended Zimbabwe in February 2022 due to a perceived political interference in the functioning of the struggling football organization.

“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 confirmed in a statement on Monday.

Among their day-to-day duties, the normalization committee will also “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”.

The normalisation committee will be chaired by local administrator Lincoln Mutasa, and must complete its mandate by June 2024.

Meanwhile, the draw for the African qualifiers for the next FIFA World Cup is to be held at the CAF Congress, which officially starts in Abidjan on Thursday.

The first round of fixtures will be played in November with no dates already fixed.

Reuters