Cameroon are struggling to find enough players for their Under-17 squad set to appear in upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers because a majority of those called up have failed an age test introduced by Samuel Eto’o.
Head coach Jean Pierre Fiala had named a squad of 30 players only for 21 of them to fail MRI tests that were made mandatory by Eto’o, the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker who is now head of the country’s FA.
That led to Fiala calling up another crop of players - except, according to reports from BBC Africa, 11 of them have subsequently failed the same test. Now Fiala is searching for more alternatives with only seven days to go before they play the first of four games in less than a fortnight.
Cameroon are due to host Congo, Chad, DR Congo and Central African Republic between 12 and 24 January for a place in April's Under-17 Nations Cup in Algeria.
When Eto’o, 41, was elected the head of Fecafoot, the governing body, in December 2021, he promised to clamp down on alleged age cheats following years of controversies and accusations from rivals. As part of that he introduced MRI testing which examines players’ wrists and determines how developed their bones are.
A statement released by Fecafoot said that Eto'o gave "strict instructions in order to put an end to the tampering with civil status records which have, in the past, tarnished the image of Cameroon football. Fecafoot urges all actors, in particular educators, to ensure that the ages by category are respected."
In a previous statement, after the initial 21 players failed tests, Fecafoot said: "They were immediately removed from the group. Steps were immediately taken for their replacement. This action is the result of strict instructions given by the President of Fecafoot acting under the mandate of the executive committee. Fecafoot urges all parties, in particular educators, to ensure that the ages by category are respected."
MRI testing to determine the age of footballers is not new but its application is becoming more thorough. FIFA introduced MRI scans at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup, which took place in Nigeria, and in 2017, 14 Cameroon players failed tests before the Under-17 Afcon in Gabon.
Guinea were disqualified from the Under-17 World Cup in 2019 after two of their players were found guilty of being too old. Last summer Fecafoot said that it was investigating 44 players from eight clubs over alleged identity cheating and previous triumphs at underage level have been called into question by rivals who have suspected overage players being part of teams.
Cameroon have won the Africa U-17 championship twice, in 2003 and 2019.
