29 of 36 Nigeria 'U17s' fail FIFA age test
FIFA Age Tests Send Shockwaves Through African Game
http://www.kenyafootball.com/index.php?doc=story&id=4001&categ=1The recent findings that just seven out of the 36 players chosen for the preliminary Nigerian squad at the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup passed an MRI age test will no doubt send shockwaves through the African game.
Although the findings will come as no surprise to many, given that footballers across the continent have been liberal with their ages for some time, the fact that this is now now being used by FIFA to scientifically prove the fact and oust the cheats will cause a fair amount of panic amongst coaches and players alike.
A full explanation of how the test works is complicated, but suffice to say Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field and pulses of radiowave energy to create images of organs and bone structure.
It is used to evaluate age from the degree of fusion of the bones in the wrist, which only completely come together at around the age of 20 in human beings.
Although the Nigerian Football Federation claim that FIFA “know the test is not reliable for determining the ages of players”, the world governing body appear to be standing firm on the use of this technology for the future.
And although the NFF are claiming innocence in the debate, they have dropped 15 of the players who underwent the MRI scans ahead of the Under-17 World Cup.
They need to then make sure they are testing all teams from all continents, and push the technology on the poorer Confederations around the world. If FIFA are going to come down on the Nigerians, they must test everybody on an equal footing.
But it is fair to say a precedence has now been set. FIFA asked for the MRI tests to be done, the results showed alleged incidents of over-age individuals in the squad and some, if not all, have been removed.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) now needs to follow the lead with testing ahead of the next African Under-17 Championships, a tournament that has always garnered suspicion.
In a way, the pressure has now been placed on them by FIFA and, no doubt, the media, to clean up their act having for so long sat back and allowed over-age players to participate in junior events, something which sullies the reputation of African football. Something tells me we shouldn’t hold our breath though.
