The Metropolitan Super Cup, in which the Under-19 Young Warriors are the only national team that is participating has raised eyebrows, with two clubs in Bulawayo saying they were not releasing their players, for fear of exposing them to betting syndicates.
The tournament was initially dubbed the Cosafa Super Cup, an invitational competition to be staged in Cape Town from April 20-25. Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Swaziland, excluding the host nation South Africa, were said to be taking part in the competition but as of on Tuesday, Young Warriors’ manager Eddie Chivero was quoted in some sections of the media saying the competition now involved South African clubs.
Castle Premier Soccer League club Chicken Inn and Zifa Buscod Southern Division One side Bantu Rovers said they have not received any communication from Zifa over players.
Chicken Inn and Bantu Rovers secretaries, Tawengwa Hara and Wilbert Sibanda, said they were skeptical about the competition.
Hara said: “The competition was first called the Cosafa Super Cup and Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Swaziland were participating but now we hear that South African clubs are taking part and Zimbabwe is the only country that is sending their national team.
“It also raised eyebrows why the host nation was not participating and now we have 32 teams. How can 32 teams participate in a four-day competition?
Something is fishy. I am not releasing my players for that competition; this might just be one of those betting syndicates’ games. In any case, we have not been formally informed of the players. We only saw their names in the press.”
Chicken Inn’s Morris Kadzola has been called up and the team is expected to go into camp in Harare on Wednesday.
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Sibanda also said he had only seen his players in the newspapers and there had been no formal communication. Bantu Rovers’ Edwin Nkomo, Kelvin Moyo, Nqobizitha Masuku, Kudakwashe Mahachi and Marvellous Nakamba had also been called up for the squad to be coached by Railstars gaffer Mandla Mpofu. Zifa board member (development), Methembe Ndlovu, who is also Bantu Rovers president, said he was not in a position to comment on the competition referring all questions to Zifa president Cuthbert Dube, who could not be reached for comment.
Board member (competitions) Benedict Moyo earlier challenged the clubs (Chicken Inn and Bantu Rovers) to prove their claims but later said if the competition was now involving clubs, something was not right.
Moyo said he was travelling to Harare and would clarify the matter and asked this reporter to call him after one hour. Moyo then said he would get back to this reporter but never did until time of going to press.
“I know that it is a developmental tournament and those clubs must prove their claims,” Moyo added.
