MRI test puts 14 Cameroonian footballers in trouble for age fraud

Fourteen Cameroonian footballers suspected of having reduced their age to participate in the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were suspended by the country’s federation (Fecafoot).

“Fourteen players have just been exposed by an Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test after they were pre-selected to participate in the junior AFCON to be held in Madagascar in 2017,” the Cameroonian state radio CRTV announced on Tuesday. The results of the test revealed that the footballers were older than 17, contrary to what they claim, CRTV added without elaborating on the actual age of the players.

In total, forty young players have undergone the tests on June 30 and July 1 in the capital Yaounde.

In Cameroon, as in many African countries, cases of young athletes lying about their age to boost their careers are common.

Big stars in Africa including Senegalese El Hadji Diouf, Nigerians Jay-Jay Okocha and Kanu, as well as Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o have been accused of reducing their ages to continue playing actively.

The cadet team of the Indomitable Lions is currently training in Yaounde in preparation for the U-17 AFCON which will begin in August.