Sports and Recreation Commission chairman Gerald Mlotshwa has reiterated that the lifting of the international ban on the country is not their priority and will only engage FIFA at the right time.

Zimbabwe was banned from international football by the global football body after the commission suspended the ZIFA board, led by Felton Kamambo.

FIFA regarded this as a government interference and suspended the country’s membership.

Speaking to reporters during the ZIFA’s forensic audit presentation on Thursday, Mlotshwa said:

“The lifting of the suspension is not a priority, let us get that out of our heads, our priority is the process to clean up our football.

“We are not in a rush at this point in time to go to FIFA and say lift the suspension. They will ask us whether we have cured all the things we gave as reasons when we suspended the ZIFA board, we are not there yet.

“When you restructure or implement reforms, that is not an overnight process, that process has already started and it started when we suspended the executive committee and it is an ongoing one with certain milestones.”

He added: “ZIFA will approach FIFA and formally ask for lifting of that suspension when we feel that we are ready to do so. This will be an ongoing process and might even outlive you.”