Warriors vice-captain and Amazulu midfielder, Ovidy Karuru, has said he is taking the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) Castle Cup 2017 tournament seriously.

The former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder together with Dynamos fullback and captain, Ocean Mushure, were appointed by Warriors head coach, Sunday Chidzambwa, as co-captains of this year’s edition of the tournament being held in North West province, South Africa from 25 June to nine July.

“For me as someone who is coming back to his best, I think I have to take the competition seriously, because you never know what will happen at the tournament. You never know who is watching you, so every game; I have to take the game serious,” Karuru told journalists before departure.

The 28-year-old also rallied younger players participating for the first time in this year’s edition of COSAFA Castle Cup to grab the opportunity to shine and showcase their abilities.

“I think it’s a good competition especially for youngsters, because the team is full of guys who are still coming up. I think they should take it seriously because they never know what would happen if they perform there. Maybe they can get contracts [with clubs] outside the country.

“So what I encourage them is to focus on the tournament and give it their best shot,” he added.

Karuru said the team is aiming at winning the trophy for the fifth time under the two-time COSAFA winning coach, Sunday Chidzambwa, who has never lost a COSAFA tournament.

“I think the coach has emphasised that he has never lost a game when he was participating at COSAFA, so for us the players it’s a challenge, he has encouraged us to win the tournament for him, because he has never lost, so it’s a challenge to the players.

“. . . so it’s a challenge for us the players. We want to go all the way to the final. But it’s not going to be easy, especially the youngsters because most of them it’s their first time playing such a tournament, so we as players who have been there, we need to encourage them,” he said.