>
Cameroonian football rocked by age fraud AGAIN as 21 of 30 players under 17 disqualified under President Samuel Eto’o’s ‘STRICT Orders’
- Cameroon has disqualified 21 of its Under-17 stars over age fraud concerns
- Most of his team for this year’s UNIFFAC tournament has been eliminated.
- More than 60 percent of Cameroon’s under-17 team are said to have failed MRI tests.
- Football federation president Samuel Eto’o is desperate to eradicate the problem
Cameroon has been hit by a new age fraud scandal after 21 members of its Under-17 team were disqualified over the issue.
In the summer, Cameroon’s soccer federation summoned 44 players from eight different clubs for a hearing on alleged age or identity cheating, with President Samuel Eto’o keen to stamp out the problem in the Central African country.
However, Eto’o has suffered another setback in his attempt to thwart his age fraud crisis after most of the players selected for this year’s UNIFACC tournament, contested by the Under-17 teams of the countries of the Union of Central African Football Federations, were disqualified after failed MRI tests.
Samuel Eto’o has ordered Cameroon to disqualify 21 under-17 players over age fraud concerns
A statement from Cameroon read: “The Cameroon Football Federation informs the public that, as part of the preparations for the UNIFFAC Limbe 2023 tournament, a qualifier for the upcoming U-17 African Nations Championship, 21 players out of the 30 currently in training have failed in the results of the MRI tests.
‘They were immediately removed from the group. Arrangements were immediately made for its replacement.
‘This action is the result of strict instructions given by the President of FECAFOOT acting under the mandate of COMEX, in order to put an end to the manipulation of civil status records that, in the past, have tarnished the image of the higher body . Cameroon soccer. FECAFOOT urges all stakeholders, particularly educators, to ensure that age categories are respected.’
Age or identity fraud remains a major source of concern for African football as a whole.
Cameroon has not yet made public its list of players for the African Nations Championship
Cameroon has recently come under fire for withholding the list of players selected for its Under-20 and Under-17 teams. There are also said to be concerns regarding his squad for this year’s African Nations Championship, with an official list of players yet to be made public ahead of their opening match on January 16.
Age fraud continues to be a major source of concern for African football, with many of its international successes at youth level marred by allegations from over-age players.
But after becoming president of the Cameroon federation in December 2021, Eto’o vowed to reform the game in the country and intensify his efforts for precisely that.