The associate membership should be applied through the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The advice was given in Dar es Salaam by Jerome Champagne, a visiting FIFA senior official when he met officials from the Zanzibar and Tanzanian ministries for sports on Tuesday.

Champagne explained that it was difficult for Zanzibar to apply for formal FIFA membership in that FIFA allows both provisional and full membership to only nations.

He said that being part of the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar does not qualify for FIFA membership.

The Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar, however, has been allowed to compete in this year's CAF African Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.

Zanzibar, though a part of the united republic, has its own president, cabinet, parliament and jurisdiction system.

Source: People’s Daily Online