HARARE - Parliament wants Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) disbanded following the national team’s failure to qualify for next year’s African Nations Cup finals in South Africa and precarious position in the quest for the 2014 World Cup.

Moving the motion in Parliament on Thursday, MDC legislator for Masvingo, Jeffryson Chitando, told Parliament that the nation no longer had confidence in the Zifa administration.

The motion was also seconded Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya of the MDC.

Chitando added that the nation was concerned by the poor performance of Zimbabwean athletes in all disciplines at international level owing to inadequate resources being channelled to the relevant ministry, but nevertheless called for the dissolution of both the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and Zifa.

“We know that various reports have been submitted to the ministry of Education, Sports, Art and Culture about the incompetence of our sports governing bodies in particular the Sports and Recreation Commission and its affiliates like Zimbabwe Football Association,” Chitando told Parliament.

“We therefore call upon the minister of Education, Sports, Art and Culture to dissolve the Sports and Recreation Commission, and Zifa and request the ministry to provide Parliament with specific objectives and targets on how the nation will achieve success in all sporting disciplines. We call upon the minister of finance to allocate adequate resources in the national budget for sports development.”

World football governing body Fifa does not allow government interference in the running of the sport, so Parliament’s move is likely to be met with some resistance in local football circles.