(April 22,2005) ZIMBABWE Under-20 soccer team coach, Nelson Matongorere, has named a 23 member squad most of them from Premiership teams to take part in an invitational 16 team tournament in the Netherlands early next month. Most of the players however, do not feature regularly for their respective first teams. The players include Dynamos trio of defenders Fidelis Mangezi, midfielder Ali Cassim and striker Craig Chitambo. The squad looks balanced with Highlanders’ Owen Gombami, Eric Mudzingwa and Josphat Sibanda being selected also for the tour of the Netherlands.

Buymore’s Kingstone Nketa, William Mapfumo and goalkeeper Edwin Manjoro are also in the squad that includes CAPS United’s Patrick Tuhwe and AmaZulu duo of Costa Nhamoinesu and Nkosizile Mhlangare.

The Young Warriors were invited alongside Zambia to the youth tournament which kicks off on 14 May. Zimbabwe will be taking part in the annual youth tournament for the first time.

They were drawn to play two Dutch clubs and a Swedish team in Group D. The Matongorere coached squad will battle it out against Dutch sides Heracles, Willem 11 and Malmo of Sweden.

Their neighbours Zambia were drawn in Group A that also has two Dutch clubs Uitgeest, FC Utrecht and Boavista from Portugal. Group B comprises English side Stoke City, Hamburg SV from Germany, Haarlem and Vitesse both from Netherlands while Spanish side Villarreal will face Netherlands sides RKC Waalwijk and Ajax Amsterdam in Group C which also includes Leicester City from England.

The top two teams from each group will qualify to play for the Cor Groenewegen Cup with the bottom two teams qualifying for the less prestigious trophy-the Koog Bokaal Cup.

The Dutch who are the organisers of the tournament have offered to take care of all expenses by the Zimbabwean team including the international travel expenses.

Squad: M Mukaronda (Harare United), T Malunga (Harare United),C Makoto (Support Unit), E Meleka (Harare United), P Tuhwe (CAPS United), G Moyo (Windsor), A Sadiki (Harare United), G Bello (Golden Kopje), T Chirera (S.E Athletic), E Manjoro (Buymore), A Shungwa (S E Athletic), A Cassim (Dynamos), T Lavo (Flame Lily), K Nketa (Buymore),C Nhamoinesu (AmaZulu), N Mhlanga (AmaZulu) M Benson (Black Aces), F Mangezi (Dynamos), W Mapfumo (Buymore), C Chitambo (Dynamos), J Sibanda (Highlanders), O Gombami (Highlanders), E Mudzingwa (Highlanders).