Norman Mapeza handed six-month ban by Zimbabwe FA

The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has been lenient to players in a second round of match-fixing bans, but former national team coach Norman Mapeza has been given a six-month suspension from football activities.

A Zifa report says that Mapeza was punished for allowing players to take money to lose at the 2009 Cecafa Cup, despite disassociating himself from the process.

In February Mapeza was suspended as national coach as part of the investigation, and he subsequently won a labour dispute against Zifa.

All 58 players who were awaiting bans have been offered suspended sentences on condition that they pay fines of between $1000 and $7000. They were facing bans of up to five years.

South Africa-based striker Nyasha Mushekwi and goalkeeper Washington Arubi are among the players, and they can now work towards reviving their national team careers.

Four officials were given suspended sentences, while another four, including Mapeza, were hit with non-negotiable bans.

Zifa says that these are the "final pronouncements" in the inquiry, which looked at tours, mostly to Asian countries, between 2007 and 2009.

However, there has been a string of appeals from the initial round of bans, where former Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa and captain Method Mwanjali were given life bans.

Both took legal action, and football's world governing body Fifa instructed Zifa to set up an appeals process that would be the initial channel for appeals.