FIFA to allow Gambia to elect new FA leaders

FIFA will allow Gambia to elect new soccer leaders in a deal that will allow the country to play in African Cup and World Cup qualifiers later this year.

FIFA says elections for a new Gambia Football Association board must be held by Sept. 30. Alieu Jammeh, the minister of sport, dissolved the former FA board following a home defeat to Algeria in an African Cup qualifier this month.

That prompted soccer's world governing body to warn of "severe sanctions" against Gambia for government interference. But a compromise has been reached after FIFA president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke met with Jammeh.

FIFA says Blatter has nominated a seven-member GFA "normalisation committee" to organize the elections.