Sepp Blatter met with a delegation from Senegal

Football's world governing body, Fifa, has recognised a Normalisation Committee aimed at getting the sport back on track in Senegal.

A delegation from Senegal, that included sports minister Dr Bacar Dia, met with Fifa president Sepp Blatter in Switzerland to discuss the country's footballing problems.

Diagna Diaye has been confirmed as the president of the Normalisation Committee, an appointment approved by Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and the Senegalese government.

After Senegal's Ministry of Sport announced the creation of the Normalisation Committee on 31 March, Fifa was reluctant to recognise its status.

In a letter earlier that month, Blatter had called for the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) to not only establish the Normalisation Committee but also review its statutes - but neither of these conditions were met.

A key point in ending the recent impasse was the presence of stand-in FSF president Bounama Dieye in Zurich this week.

Blatter demanded his presence to legitimise proceedings, even though Dieye has previously been accused by the Senegalese judiciary of embezzling funds from the FSF.

We would like to thank Mr Blatter for his understanding and his constant and unwavering battle towards the emergence a modern African football Senegal's sports minister, Bacar Dia

Tuesday's meeting between Fifa and the Senegalese delegation both outlined and confirmed the varying objectives for the Normalisation Committee:

Fifa's approval of the Normalisation Committee comes not a moment too late for Senegal, whose football has been in chaos since the early exit at January's Africa Cup of Nations.

After 29 out of 40 FSF members resigned in a matter of weeks, a power vacuum crippled the sport and prompted the FSF to return its powers to run football to the government - which contravenes Fifa rules.

The Senegalese open their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign on 31 May against Algeria, yet the administrative chaos has left national coach Lamin Ndiaye to prepare in challenging conditions.

"The key now is to find out feet again and return to normality - not make a great speech to the public about how we are going to qualify for Africa's first World Cup," he told BBC Sport.

On Sunday, the Senegalese host Mali in the new African Nations Championship, a competition for local players even though there has been no league football in Senegal since September.