Zimbabwe’s football governing body, ZIFA, has been dissolved with immediate effect.
As it issued life bans on two former officials, the association reached the decision today at its EGM in Mount Hampden.
ZIFA no longer exists and a new body with a new name will now be formed. ZimEye.com is reliably told the new name will be FAZI.
The move is for the embattled association to start afresh with a better image and without carrying anymore debt.
Philip Chiyangwa will remain the president of the new association.
ZIFA’s debt stood at over $5 million.
ZIFA also handed life bans to former ZIFA CEO Henrietta Rushwaya and Jonathan Musavengana.
The pair were banned for their involvement in the match fixing scandal that rocked local football just before the Warriors AFCON qualifier against Swaziland.
Matches at the CHAN 2016 tournament are alleged to have been fixed as well.
Edzai Kasinauyo, Ian Gorowa and Nation Dube who were all implicated in the scandal were also handed bans.
Kasinauyo and Gorowa were handed 10 year bans from football while Dube received a five year ban The bans will need further
endorsement from FIFA to have a global effect.
Below was the full press statement on the development by CEO, Joseph Mamutse:
PRESS STATEMENT
The National Football Association would like to advise all football stakeholders that on the 4th of June 2016 its stakeholders convened an inaugural Congress meeting at Crown Plaza Hotel where the constitution governing the association was adopted and its inaugural Executive Committee was elected. The new association, responsible for governing association football in Zimbabwe, has already taken necessary legal steps in terms of the laws of Zimbabwe to attain status as the exclusive association football body in Zimbabwe.
Omega Sibanda
NFAZ First Vice President
ZIFA PRESS STATEMENT
1 . ZIFA wishes to advise all its stakeholders that on the 4th of June 2016 an Extraordinary Congress was convened at ZIFA Village which resolved in the best interests of association football in Zimbabwe and in accordance with Article 77 of its constitution to dissolve ZIFA with effect from the 6 th of June 2016.
2. Further the Extraordinary Congress passed resolutions to deal with matters ancillary to the dissolution. The decisions of the Extraordinary Congress have since been formally communicated to FIFA, CAF, COSAFA and SRC.
Joseph Mamutse
Acting ZIFA Chief Executive Officer