By Beauty Runako Silindiwa
The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) has suspended and fined Zimbabwe US$50 000 for failure to honour an agreement to host the 2019 COSAFA Cup.
The country failed to host this year’s regional tournament set for May 25-June 8 citing inadequate facilities and less time to prepare, and South Africa has since stepped in as hosts.
For failing to honour the agreement, the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has received a conditional suspension from COSAFA, but can remedy the situation within two months if it confirms the country as hosts of the 2020 COSAFA Cup, and provide the already signed guarantees from the Zimbabwe government to this effect.
Failure to do so will see the association suspended, though the two-month grace period will allow the national team to compete in the 2019 COSAFA Cup in Durban, South Africa from May 25-June 8.
ZIFA has also been fined US$50,000, with a further amount of US$150,000 suspended until the above condition over 2020 hosting has been met.
The COSAFA Disciplinary Body was chaired by Antonio Caetano de Sousa, accompanied by Adrian Kashala and Daud Suleman.