Fifa flex muscles in Ethiopia

Sports Reporter
FIFA have stepped in to address serious constitutional problems in Ethiopia that had created a crisis of legitimacy over the East African country’s electoral process.

In a scenario that underlines that such associations like ZIFA are not in the crisis levels that some hawks, who have been fighting the national game’s establishment, have tried to make the nation believe, FIFA have noted with concern events in the Ethiopian Football Federation.

The Ethiopians don’t have an electoral code, independent electoral committee and an independent electoral appeals committee to cover over the polls in that country.

FIFA have since stepped in to address the crisis in the Horn of African country which unlike ZIFA has huge anomalies in their statutes.

The world foootball governing body are also seized with a case in which ZIFA have sought guidance from the world body on a request to amend a section of their constitution which stipulates that the electoral committee, once appointed, would need six months before they can get down to work.

They are scheduled to rule on the issue this week. The ZIFA assembly want the electoral committee to be allowed to start work a fortnight ago after they would have been inducted.

ZIFA came up with the resolution to seek FIFA guidance on the amendment to that election roadmap at their annual meeting on February 17, a move which a rebellious section of the assembly, now wants to ignore by claiming that the entire leadership should step down on the contested claims that the term of office of the assembly expired on March 29.

While FIFA are expected to pronounce their position on the FIFA request this week, the world body on Monday outlined the findings of their intervention in the Ethiopian crisis.

FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura on Tuesday wrote to the acting EFF secretary-general Solomon Gebresilassie giving the world boy’s report on the assessment mission that they had undertaken in Ethiopia on March 12.

“We refer to the FIFA assessment mission that took place in Addis Ababa on 12 March, 2018 in relation to the Ethiopian Football Federation electoral process.