Nations Cup: 32 Players Fail Age Test In Cameroon U-17 Squad

No fewer than 32 players invited to represent Cameroon in the forthcoming Under-17 Nations’ Cup in Algeria have failed a compulsory age test.

This development comes amid the infamy of age cheating that has characterized African football.

Samuel Eto’o, president of the country’s football governing body, Fecafoot, had ordered the tests following concerns over the age of players in the under-17 camp.

Of the 30 players initially drafted, 21 failed the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test and were dismissed.

After the 21 players were replaced, another 11 failed the MRI test raising concerns over the possibility of the squad being ready for the Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) qualifiers between 12 and 24 January, with two teams progressing to April’s Under-17 Nations Cup in Algeria.

FIFA introduced MRI scans after allegations of widespread age cheating at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup, which took place in Nigeria.

The MRI works by scanning the wrist to study how advanced the bone structure is.