he Zanzibar Football
Federation has set
its sights on joining
alternative football
association CONIFA
after a17-year battle
to join FIFA failed.
The ZFF was founded back in1926
and predates the union of the island of
Zanzibar with Tanganyika in1964 that
formed Tanzania, whose federation
joined FIFA the same year.
The autonomous island of a million
people became an associate member
of the Confederation of African Football
and clubs were allowed to enter the
qualifiers for the African Champions
League and the Confederation Cup.
Zanzibar also fielded a national team
in the Council for East and Central Africa
Football Association’s championship,
winning in1995, but grumbles over
the allocation of funds for development
drove a bid for footballing independence.
A first bid by Zanzibar for FIFA
membership was rejected in 2005.The ZFF kept trying and in 2017
secured full membership of CAF
and applied again to the global body.
After another rejection, Zanzibar were
humiliatingly relegated back to associate
membership of CAF a few months later.
The final nail came last year, whenZanzibar give up on
FIFA membership
The Tanzanian island is turning to the Confederation
of Independent Football AssociationsWORLD SERVICECAF amended its statutes so that
all new members must now be an
independent member of the United
Nations. The move at a CAF congress in
Rabat brought the African confederation
into line with FIFA’s own regulations but
was widely viewed as part of a wider
political ploy.
Moroccan football federation
president Fouzi Lekjaa had joined
FIFA’s council last year and the CAF
membership changes also prevented
a future bid for membership from the
disputed territory of Western Sahara,
which Morocco annexed from Spain
in1975.
The CAF move has come as
Zanzibar’s overseas opportunities
began to dry up. The senior CECAFA
championship has not been staged since
2019 due to COVID-19, when Zanzibar
suffered1-0 defeats to Tanzania and
Kenya but held Sudan1-1. The CECAFA
Under-23 championship was staged last
year but Zanzibar were not involved.
Zanzibar’s champions KMKM did
enter the 2021-22 CAF Champions
League, losing 4-0 on aggregate to
Libyan side Al Ittihad, but participation
in CAF club competitions is usually
dependent on the largesse of local
sponsors to cover travel costs.
With little help on the horizon, the ZFF
agreed to host a CONIFA championship
for African representatives unable to join
FIFA. Ten teams provisionally entered
ranging from Western Sahara and
Matabeleland in Zimbabwe to
Barotseland from Zambia and
the Barawa from Somalia.
The
tournament
was cancelled
twice due to
lack of finances
and COVID-19
restrictions but CONIFA is hopeful that
a smaller four-team event can be staged
in southern Africa later this year.
ZFF president Seif Combo says:
“There is a possibility [to join FIFA] but
we need to have a godfather to fight for
us. Actually, I am fighting to influence
my people to fully participate in
CONIFA as we qualify with no limit.”
FIFA membership would have
brought millions of dollars of funding
for development, whereas CONIFA costs
€500 to join. Zanzibar has not paid the
fee yet and some doubts remain over
the ZFF’s desire to join. “I think most of
it is a political card rather than actual
desire,” says one former CONIFA insider.
CONIFA membership might bring
some opportunities on the field but
would not solve the problem of more
funding to help develop the game
on Zanzibar.T
Zanzibar...ahead of the 2017 CECAFA Cup finalCECAFA Cup final...
Zanzibar lost to Kenya
on penaltiesZanzibar
STEVE MENARY“I am fighting to influence my people to fully
participate in CONIFA as we qualify with no limit”
Zanzibar Football Federation president Seif Combo