FECAFOOT suspends 14 players guilty of age-cheating

Fourteen Cameroonian players have been found guilty of age-fraud and subsequently suspended by their federation according to reports coming out of Cameroon today.

The Fédération Camerounaise de Football uncovered that players had been lying about their age in an effort to play at the under-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Madagascar next year.

Age cheating is commonplace among African nations where it is often difficult to verify a player’s age, but the introduction of MRI testing has curtailed much of the dishonesty that has taken place in the past.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gives examiners information about the structures of the body and was implemented by FIFA prior to the under-17 World Cup in 2009.

A total of 40 young players were subject to MRI testing on June 30 and July 1 in Yaounde with more than a third discovered to have been age-cheating.

“Fourteen players have just been found to be adjusting their ages by an MRI test,” reported Cameroon Radio television (CRTV).

Cameroon has a well documented history of age-cheating with former international Tobie Mimboe having used a number of different documents over the course of his career.