Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA has fined Zimbabwe and awarded Ivory Coast a 3-0 win after the Zimbabweans failed to show up for a women's Olympic qualifying game.
Zimbabwe withdrew before the second leg, which was meant to be played this weekend.
FIFA fined the Zimbabwe Football Association 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,400) Wednesday for missing the first leg on July 19. ZIFA couldn't raise the money to send the women's under-23 team to Ivory Coast.
Zimbabwe's soccer body is in deep financial trouble, with the senior men's team already thrown out of 2018 World Cup qualifying because ZIFA couldn't pay outstanding wages to a former coach.
The men's under-20 team was banned for three years for missing an African qualifier in Angola in 2012, also because it couldn't afford to travel.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
