Reigning Zimbabwe champions Dynamos have pulled out of the proposed four-team tournament set for Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa, at the end of the month, arguing the money offered by South African side Mamelodi Sundowns is” too little”.
The Brazilians, who are organising the tournament, had offered Dynamos and Caps United R100 000 each to cover the costs of taking part in the tournament set for January 29.
The first proposal from Sundowns was for the tournament to involve Dynamos, Caps United, Sundowns and Black Leopards, but Kaizer Chiefs were drafted in at the last minute.
Dynamos chairman Keni Mubaiwa, confirming the withdrawal of Dynamos from the tournament, said yesterday they had seriously considered the money which had been offered by Sundowns and decided it was inadequate as it would only cover the costs of taking part in the tournament.
“I can confirm that we are no longer taking part in the tournament. We took this decision after seriously considering the money which has been offered by Sundowns. We felt it was too little because they offered us R100 000 and if you convert that, it’s about US$12 000 and to us we felt it’s not worth it so we decided to withdraw. We will be informing them officially tomorrow (Monday). But I am told Caps United are still interested in taking part,” said Mubaiwa.
Although there won’t be any prize money for winning the tournament, Sundowns had negotiated with SuperSport for all the matches at the tournament to be beamed live on one of the channels of the pay-per-view television network.
The tournament would have given coach Calisto Pasuwa a chance to gauge his team ahead of the African Champions League.
The Zimbabwe champions were given a preliminary round bye in the African Champions League and will face winners of the clash between Mafunzo FC of Zanzibar and Mozambique’s MuÇulmano de Maputo in the first round.
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Should they win that encounter, Dynamos could face defending champions Espérance of Tunisia in the second round for a place in the lucrative group stages of the competition.
