U-17 AFCON: Cameroon hit with fresh age-manipulation scandal
Cameroon have encountered a new setback in their buildup to the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Algeria after a new set of players currently in camp in preparation for the tournament were disqualified for age fraud.
The West African country hit global headlines a few days ago after 21 of the 30 players in camp failed Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) tests to be eligible for the team forcing Cameroon football federation (fecafoot) president Samuel Eto’o to order a new round of tests.
Results from the new MRI screening showed that 11 new players failed the test, further complicating the situation for the federation as the country is racing against time to secure a ticket to the U-17 AFCON scheduled to take place in April.
Cameroon are yet to qualify for the event as they are set to host Congo, Chad, DR Congo, and Central African Republic in the Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) qualifying tournament for the AFCON.
The qualifiers are scheduled to take place between 12 and 24 of January, with the Fecafoot now scrambling to assemble a new squad for the tournament.
Top two teams from the UNIFFAC tournament will qualify for the U-17 AFCON.
Eto’o has taken a hard stance against age manipulation by players intending to represent Cameroon in international events and further argued all actors, in particular educators, to “ensure that the ages category are respected”.
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