The tournament, which was sponsored by
Coca-Cola, was originally created by politicians from 22 member states of the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The creation of the competition was seen as a threat to the existence of
CECAFA which could potentially be replaced by COMESA's new interest in football. It was announced in July 2000 that the tournament would take place in
Lusaka,
Zambia where the COMESA headquarters are located. ==Qualifying==