A COMMITTEE which will decide the fates of 98 players and officials implicated in match fixing has so far interviewed 20 individuals, but ZIFA officials say it is unlikely to meet the March 31 deadline to conclude the hearings.

FIFA has given the Zimbabwean authorities until May 31 to wind-up the investigation and impose sanctions on the guilty players, but ZIFA is eyeing an earlier finish.

The ZIFA Independent (ADHOC) Disciplinary Committee was set up in October 2012 to conduct hearings and pass sanctions on the players and match officials who are accused of accepting payments from Asian betting syndicates in order to lose matches by fixed scores.

ZIFA suspended all the implicated players and coaching staff from national team selection. The decision saw national team coach Norman Mapeza and his assistant Joey Antipas being forced to stand aside when Zimbabwe lost 2-1 away to Burundi in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on February 29.

Caretaker coach Rahman Gumbo is anxious to see ZIFA conclude the hearings before the return leg on June 5, hoping some suspended players would be cleared and become available for selection.

ZIFA communications manager Nicky Dhlamin Moyo said on Sunday: "We acknowledge the anxiety that has gripped the nation, and like all stakeholders ZIFA would like to put a lid on Asiagate and start a new chapter. This will be done before the FIFA set deadline of May 31.”

Dhlamini said the committee, chaired by retired judge Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, began interviewing players and officials in February with the intention of completing the investigation process by March 31.

But he says due to the complexity of the cases and non-availability of some of the players, the process has taken longer than expected.

The hearings follow tours to Thailand, Malaysia and Syria by make-shift Zimbabwe squads between 2007 and 2009 during which some players have admitted receiving payments to lose by set scores.