Rwanda U20 national team will not compete in the COSAFA Under-20 Championships which will be staged in Rustenburg, South Africa from December 7-16, according to the Rwanda Football Association (FERWAFA). “We will not compete in Cosafa because we don’t have money for it and we don’t want to postpone the football league,” a statement published on FERWAFA official website said. The COSAFA U20 tournament will feature 14 sides and Rwanda was invited as replacement for Madagascar but FERWAFA have decided to pull out of the two-week long tourney. The statement adds, “FERWAFA took the decision to withdraw from the tournament in bid to avoid any influence that could prompt the suspension of the Azam Rwanda Premier League matches scheduled in December since majority of the players who constitute the U20 team are playing first team football with topflight clubs.” Meanwhile, the Junior Wasps will leave for Casablanca, Morocco on Sunday night ahead of the inaugural edition of the Morocco Partners’ tournament set to begin next week. Selected players in the final 20-man team will report at FERWAFA headquarters on Sunday afternoon after their club engagements in the national league match-day 4. The 1st edition of the Morocco Partners’ Tournament is designed to give a platform to youngsters from Morocco FA partner federations to display their skills as part of an on-going youth development partnership between the two federations. The statement further reads, “We are going to concentrate on the tournament in Morocco. We will not compete in the Cosafa Championships.” Bugesera FC head coach Vincent Mashami will take charge of the Junior Wasps for the Morocco tournament. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
