Three months after becoming a full member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Zanzibar has bid for the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) membership.
This was confirmed by Tanzania Football Federation Jamal Malinzi who revealed the nation has fulfilled all that it requires for them to become FIFA members.
TFF boss, Jamal Malinzi tweeted:
Following admission of Zanzibar into CAF, TFF has now formally submitted application for Zanzibar to become a member of FIFA.@FIFAcom
— Jamal Malinzi (@jamalmalinzi) June 4, 2017
Unlike in 2005 when their application was rejected by the World soccer governing body, Zanzibar has fulfilled one of the key requirements which states that national associations must be affiliated to continental confederations before they can join Fifa.
The Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA) earned approval to become CAF member at the General Assembly held in March this year.
The Island nation was previously an associate member on the continent, allowing its clubs to play in Caf competitions (CAF Champions League & CAF Confederation Cup) but its national team was excluded as they always merged with Tanzania for international football.
They were only autonomous as a national football team in CECAFA but if approved, they will have a chance to compete in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and also the 2022 World Cup.
They will officially become FIFA member number 212 if approved.