Leo Mugabe was sacked in absentia

Zimbabwe's Football Association (Zifa) has sacked chairman Leo Mugabe after the disappearance of tens of thousands of dollars.

Mugabe, who is the nephew of Zimbabwe's president, had been in charge for nearly ten years.

"The board has passed a no-confidence vote in the chairman," Zifa vice-chairman Vincent Pamire said after a meeting on Thursday night.

Mugabe is alleged to have failed to account for $61,575 given to Zimbabwe's FA by Fifa.

The money was to have been used to built a football facility outside Harare.

Mugabe was not at Thursday's meeting as he is travelling with Zimbabwe's women's football team which is taking part in the Nations Cup in Nigeria.

The full Zifa council is due to meet within the next 30 days to decide whether to ratify the board's decision to remove Mugabe and the Zifa treasurer.

Mugabe's reign has been an inglorious one.

His country has never qualified for the African Nations Cup and he he was blamed for the debacle which saw Zimbabwe lose the right to host the finals in 2000.

Despite his constant assurances that Zifa had enough money to stage the event, just a few months before kick-off Caf withdrew the tournament after the promises proved false.