The Council for Southern African Football Association (Cosafa) said the controversial Metropolitan Super Cup to be staged in Cape Town, South Africa, is an invitational tournament and teams taking part are not national sides.
The tournament will run from April 20-25.
Cosafa chief executive officer Sue Destombes told NewsDay Sport Wednesday that the competition was not sponsored by Cosafa.
Destombes said the competition was an annual invitational tournament for clubs and invited teams should adopt a name solely for the tournament.
The Cosafa boss said the competition was a developmental tournament.
Destombes said junior teams from Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho had been invited to the tournament which involved South African sides.
“It is an annual Under-19 developmental tournament but it is not a Cosafa competition. It is organised by Metropolitan and we are involved because of our relationship with Metropolitan. If a nation is invited to the competition, they must play under a different name, not as a national team because it is a club competition,” Destombes said.
There had been fears in the country that the competition could be bogus. Some clubs in Bulawayo threatened not to release their players for fear of exposing them to betting syndicates.
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Acting Zifa president Kenny Marange said it had already been resolved that Zimbabwe would be sending a team. The team will assemble in Harare today Thursday.
Marange said the invitational documents for the competition were on a Cosafa letterhead and signed by Destombes.
“It was resolved that we would be sending a team to the Under-19 tournament.
“The team is assembling tomorrow (Thursday). We will be holding a Zifa board meeting this afternoon (yesterday) on the way forward and we need to do it sooner than later and maybe talk to Sue (Destombes) to clarify issues.
“But the resolution has already been made that the team is going,” Marange said.
l Meanwhile, the Under-20 Young Warriors manager Eddie Chivero has expressed disappointment at Chicken Inn and Bantu Rovers for threatening not release their players for the tournament labelling them “hypocrites”.
Chivero said he found it absurd that the clubs would turn around and say the tournament was bogus.
The Under-20 manager said the invitational tournament was of benefit to the nation.
“These guys are hypocrites. If some of these club administrators are doves, they should fly high otherwise we will mistake them for owls. This is benefitting the country and not any individual,” Chivero said.
