It is an old news and now and then problem that some African countries falsify the birth certificates of football players, thus causing serious damage to international football. Last January, the cheating scandal raised its head, when twenty-one of the 30 players invited to the U17 Cameroon national team turned out to be older than they claimed to be. What is the reason for this and what can be the solution? We tried to find an answer to this in our article.
Everyone knows they are cheating
The year started with a big scandal in Cameroon. The U17 national football team of the country defeated the Republic of Congo 2-0 on January 15, thereby qualifying for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, but after the examinations in Latvia, it was found that the success was achieved because two-thirds of the team appeared illegally. After the fraud was discovered, the 21 soccer players were excluded from the squad, and players were called in instead.
A total of 21 players from the Cameroon U17 national team have been removed from the camp with immediate effect after they failed MRI test, ahead of the regional tournament for Central African Football Federations’ Union. pic.twitter.com/WBYoPOAvJD
— African Soccer Updates (@Africansoccerup) December 30, 2022
We would say that it’s youth and folly, but the scandal is not even a sign of it. In African football, it is common practice to cheat with the referee, so much so that players in amateur leagues have two specific ages: the soccer age and the youth age. This problem is present everywhere, from Cameroon to Niger, all the way to South Africa, and it significantly tarnishes the performance of African football. Last year, for example, forty-four players from eight clubs were banned because they were found to have lied about their age.
I know that in the previous championships, we include players who are very old. What are we not saying? This is the truth. We always cheat. It’s a tny” Anthony Kojo Williams, who ran the Nigerian Labdarg Association for three days in 1999, told the BBC.
African players are generally seen as teenagers, since young people are the future. It is practically unprecedented for an African player to qualify for one of the major European top championships in the middle of summer. Those affected usually either have no idea at all, or they don’t even try to tell the truth. The cause of the problem is due to the fact that, due to the terrible social and economic conditions, it is still difficult to obtain authentic documents, and according to some opinions, in some countries this is consciously exploited in order to be successful in the age-old tournament. At the 2009 U17 World Cup, a total of 15 players from the 38-man squad hosted by Nigeria had to be sent home because they were older. In the same year, the members of the U17 Africa Cup-winning Gambian team almost failed the age test, which was even acknowledged by the president of the Gambian national team, Seedy Kinteh. And in 2019, Guinet was kicked out of the tournament for cheating.
Sometimes even players who have a serious career in Europe are suspicious. Former Inter star Obafemi Martins, for example, according to his letter, was born on October 28, 1984, however, on the website of the Nigerian federation, he was born on the first day of May 1978. When this was revealed, the police took the blame away, saying that they had made an administrative error, but the castle had to explain itself for a long time. NwankwoKanu, who won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, also looked older at a younger age, and Nii Lamptey from Ghana suffered from croup fatigue, which was surprising given his age.
And in 2008, Everton’s coach at the time, David Moyes, had to explain himself about the three-time scorer of the Nigerian team, Yakubu Aiyegbeni: “He’s only 25 years old, by Nigerian standards, so if he’s really that old, he’s still got a lot of years.”
Africa is the king of travel
It is no wonder that Africa has been dominating the world at this level for decades. Or at least his defining role, since Ghana has won the U17 World Cup twice and Nigeria three times from the two African superpowers, and the former also won the U20 World Cup in 2009, and the latter the Olympics in 1996. At the qualifying level, the two countries have won the Africa Cup a total of ten times.
It would be fair if Africa returned the five U17 trophies won by Nigeria and Ghana to FIFA, because I openly and completely agree that they won by cheating.” Mamadou Gaye, the youth from the Ivory Coast, criticized one of the American TV stations.
Despite the successes, many people question the successes achieved by these countries at the youth level, since the outstanding results have not been repeated by the seniors. At the professional level, it is rare to find football players who actually belong to the world’s elite. The question arises, what is the use of these successes and how do the above-mentioned people profit from the fraud?
What are they cheating with letkor?
In contrast to European and South American countries, the majority of African nations do not have the organizational structure, financial and economic background to be able to continuously provide international football with such players as the Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, the World Cup winner Didier Drogba, or the present two of the biggest African stars, Sadio Man and Mohamed Salah.
In some cases, fraud is not intentional. It is surprising, but there are African countries where the administrative system is so outdated that it is practically impossible to identify them. They are simply not documented properly, so many players do not even know the date of the cheese cut. and when it is included in the official documents, it is actually only an estimate.
To this day, we use registry and record keeping in this part of Africa. Another big problem is the lack of birth certificate extracts. There are many children playing football who do not have a birth certificate from Slets” – said the head of communication of the Malawi Football Association about the severity of the situation.
However, this is rarer, as in most cases players deliberately falsify their age. Due to the lack of opportunities and social mobility, football and sports are the only way out of poverty for many children. but there are countries, such as Cameroon, where it is practically impossible to make a living from football, because there are two clubs in the country that can be said to be financially stable, the rest cannot ensure regular salaries for their players. On the other hand, many of our players, trainers and professionals active in football take advantage of the lack of commitment in order to benefit from other teams. Because they cheat with the age, the champions and clubs can get much more money for the players imported to Europe.
Assume that a 23-year-old African soccer player is signed by a European club team, where he is certainly a much faster and more advanced soccer player. At the same time, he has to adapt to the new team, the new league and European football itself. All of this can take a long time, as a 30-year-old player is no longer so popular on the market. that’s why they usually cheat with the age by 2-6 years to extend the “warranty period” of the game.
FIFA found a solution, but the problem still exists
In Africa, in the past, coaches and referees only focused on the result, instead of focusing on the development of the national team at that age. After this, it’s no wonder that almost every major championship is full of rumors that some African team tried to cheat, and in many of these cases the fraud was indeed proven. How can we prove this? FIFA has already faced the problem. For the first time, at the 2009 U17 World Cup, we introduced not only doping tests on the players, but an MRI test as a rule. By scanning the wrist, we examine how developed the bone structure is, and then classify it from one to six. Effective division means that the ossification process is complete, which usually ends around the age of 17-19. therefore, with the help of this tool, it is possible to perfectly determine whether the given player is entitled to the subscription or not.
Although the Confederation of African Football (CAF) now uses MRI examinations, but due to the problem that pops up every now and then, they feel as if we do not take this phenomenon seriously enough, which clearly damages the image of the African football market. In the past, of course, it was common practice for African nations to receive FIFA benefits, while doing nothing to expose corruption and fraud on the continent.
A son of Barcelona legend Samuel Eto’o, he became the president of Cameroon’s football federation in December 2021, and after his appointment, he promised that he would do everything in his interest to prevent any further fraud. So far, 44 players have fallen due to bullying, but it seems that it will take more time and a longer process before they will put an end to the actions related to the citizenship status of the players.
It is not accidental, as the problem may have been solved. The development of African football significantly reduced the number of age-related cheating scandals, because better opportunities or footballers are ready for European football sooner. It is certain that due to the corruption scandals of the past decades, the performance of African football has suffered significantly, and it will be difficult for them to wash away the shame. Of course, it is not impossible, but as long as the Confederation of African Football, as the parent organization, does not take the issue seriously, and as long as FIFA does not take an active role in the matter, African football will suffer.
