The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is the governing body of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. It is responsible for organising national football competitions in Zimbabwe and managing the
Zimbabwe national football team
The Zimbabwe national football team (Nicknamed ''The Warriors''), represents Zimbabwe in men's international football and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), formerly known as the Football Association of Rhodesia. The tea ...
s.
The current ZIFA was founded in 1979. It has been affiliated with
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
since 1965 and has been a member of the
CAF since 1980.
In October 2015, Zimbabwe Football Association President, Cuthbert Dube, stepped down after five years in charge. During his tenure, the organisation's debt rose to $6 million and national teams struggled repeatedly to fulfil away assignments due to lack of funds. Dube faced a vote of no confidence at a meeting prior to his resignation.
ZIFA regions
ZIFA has four Regions made up of ten Provinces:
*ZIFA Central Region (Provinces: ''Matebeleland South, Midlands'')
*ZIFA Eastern Region (Provinces: ''Manicaland, Masvingo, Mashonaland East'')
*ZIFA Northern Region (Provinces: ''Harare, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West'')
*ZIFA Southern Region (Provinces: ''Bulawayo, Matebeleland North'')
Unauthorised matches allegation
In October 2010, Henrietta Rushwaya, the Chief Executive of the ZIFA, was sacked after being found guilty by the Association's disciplinary body on charges of "conduct inconsistent with her duties, mismanagement and insubordination".
Rushwaya was found guilty of sending the national team to play unauthorised matches in Asia in 2009. Her sacking followed her suspension in July 2010 on suspicion of fixing matches in a Malaysian tournament.
She was also found guilty of requesting a loan of $103,000 from Zimbabwe's sports commission, an amount that is now unaccounted for.
The national team's matches against Thailand, Syria and a Malaysian club were accepted without the permission of ZIFA's Board or Zimbabwe's Sports Commission, which must authorise foreign trips taken by Zimbabwe teams. Rushwaya also allowed the former Zimbabwe champions Monomotapa to go to Malaysia in 2009 masquerading as the national team of Zimbabwe.
Both tours are suspected of being set up by betting syndicates, a report by the Forum for African Investigative Reporters stated in September 2010.
Rushwaya was acquitted after a fully contested trial and also due to lack of incriminating evidence. Some theorists allege that her prosecution was a conspiracy linked to ZIFA President Cuthbert Dube
References
External links
*
*
Zimbabweat FIFA website
Zimbabweat CAF Online
{{COSAFA Football
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
Football in Zimbabwe
Sports governing bodies in Zimbabwe
Sports organizations established in 1965