Kotoko reject invitation to play in India tourney

Ghana Premier League champions Asante Kotoko say they have turned down an invitation to play in 16-club tournament in India next month.

The Rovers Cup, the second oldest tournament in India, will take place between August 28 and September 12.


The tournament is being organized by the Western India Football Association, the governing body in the state of Maharashtra.


Kotoko were one of four foreign clubs invited to join 12 local clubs for the knock-out competition which will be played on the newly laid artificial pitch at the Corporate Stadium in Mumbai.


But the Kumasi-based club say their busy pre-season schedule will not permit them to partake in the competition.

"We decided that the competition in India will not fit into the club's pre-season programme," Kotoko spokesperson Listowell Yesu Bukarson the club's official newspaper.


"We have instructed our international relations consultant to write to the organizers communicating our happiness with the invitation and recognition but we cannot make it to the tournament because of our pre-season programme."


Kotoko will leave for South Africa next week to play in an international tournament.