BBC Sport: Nigeria's under-17 squad wiped out as half are older than 17

[bizzaro]

Memories of Yakubu are still fresh.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/artic...-17-squad-wiped-out-as-half-are-older-than-17

A staggering 26 members of Nigeria's Under-17 side failed an age test carried out ahead of an African Cup of Nations qualifier.

A mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) screening of the squad revealed almost half were ineligible to play.

Only last year the Golden Eaglets, as they are known, won the FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile for a record fifth time.

The players who failed the tests have now left the training camp in Abuja.

They were staying there ahead of tomorrow's Cup of Nations U17 qualifying match against neighbouring Niger, which will still go ahead.

Many of the expected starting eleven passed the test.

Accusations of age cheating have blighted Nigeria's success at international age group tournaments in recent years.

Former Nigerian FA president Anthony Kojo Williams told the BBC: "We use over-age players for junior championships, I know that.

"Why not say it? It's the truth. We always cheat. It's a fact.

"When you cheat, you deprive the young stars that are supposed to play in these competitions their rights."

In 2013 Nigeria were left without key players for their Fifa Under-17 World Cup in after failing the same tests.

Controversially, USA-based Abuchi Obinwa was one of those to fail the testdespite having all the relevant documentation to prove his age.

Football's world governing body Fifa introduced MRI scans to check the ages of players at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup, which took place in Nigeria.

MRI is used to scan the wrist plate of players to accurately check their true age, with only players between grade one and five of the scan eligible to participate.

Players with more advanced bone structure are considered to be adults.

BBC Sport's Andy Cryer has written extensively about the "rampant" problem of age fraud in African Football here.

 

[thirdmantackle]

Yakubu was about 35 when he played for us

 

[bizzaro]

Yakubu was about 35 when he played for us

They massively protested to EFC about the comments too.

Yet it possibly explains partially, why he was let go at a low price when he was.

Perhaps the club realised that there might have been age fraud


Which is apparently rife in Nigeria.

More than 50% of their under 17 teams are older than 17. That means some of them can be 20 or more.

When or if EFC buy a player that claims to be 28 that means he's actually 31 and we would get three less years out of the player potentially.

Also massive impact on the fee and the risks involved.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

Wasn't this from a few years ago?

 

[bizzaro]

Wasn't this from a few years ago?

No this is a new one - where half their squad have been banned from participating in qualifying games.

Basically they are doing mandatory wrist MRI scans and analysis of the bone structure to age the players.

Those failing the test (older than they state) are being prohibited from playing


Theres also now an admission they are always cheating on playing over age players.

This means that historically theres been age - fraud in Nigerian players.

Despite their earlier denials and demands for sanction against Moyes when he was Everton manager.

 

[bizzaro]

February 2008:


NFA spokesman Demola Olajire told KickOffNigeria.com that the NFA would be sending a strongly-worded letter to the English FA asking for sanctions on Moyes.

"His statement is insultive to the Nigerian nation and unbecoming of a Premiership manager.

"We don’t take kindly to snide remarks about our players, or our nation and we will be lodging a strongly-worded complaint to the English FA to sanction him."

In his post match comments after Everton cruised to a 6-1 win over SK Brann at Goodison Park on Thursday, Moyes was quoted by the UK Guardian as saying.

"What people don't appreciate is that he's only 25, albeit a Nigerian 25, and so if that is his age he's still got a good few years ahead of him."

It was a remark that had many Nigerians in shock, with former Dolphins captain Ahmed Abdulrahman going as far as labelling the comment 'racist'.

"It was a racist comment," the multiple League and Cup winner said. "If Yakubu was Brazilian or European, would he have called it Brazilian or European age?”

"He must be brought to book to explain his comments."

Fatai Amoo, who coaches Nigerian Premier League Sunshine Stars was stunned into disbelief.

"I want to believe he was joking. John Terry made a similar remark when John Mikel Obi celebrated his 20th birthday too."

 

[toffeejack]

would like the question to be posed to olajire now.

 

[DualityNSNO]

*GASP*

Is anyone really surprised? If they are - I say watch a Nigeria U17 game vs any other U17 team out there - they're all bigger and stronger and win with sheer physicality and nothing else. It's so obvious it's unbelievable (,Jeff!).

 

[bizzaro]

would like the question to be posed to olajire now.

Its a real risk to clubs like Everton.

When you're spending Millions of £££ on a player who might have a shorter career than you anticipate.

Because they've committed fraud on their age declarations.


Medical testing should be mandatory and EFC should be massively on top of it in advance of signing players from at risk regions where documentation is easier to manipulate/fabricate.

 

[dholliday]

Nigeria is arguably the most ceaselessly corrupt nation on the planet. Fellow Africans regularly admonish and joke about them for it.

 

[DualityNSNO]

Also Nigerian scams you say?

 

[toffeejack]

Its a real risk to clubs like Everton.

When you're spending Millions of £££ on a player who might have a shorter career than you anticipate.

Because they've committed fraud on their age declarations.


Medical testing should be mandatory and EFC should be massively on top of it in advance of signing players from at risk regions where documentation is easier to manipulate/fabricate.

any club, not just us. How many teams have paid more for nigerians expecting to get an extra 3 or 4 years out of them from what they paid for. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why they've won that U17 cup so many times in a row ... yet on the international stage they're not even close to being that competitive.

 

[bizzaro]

any club, not just us. How many teams have paid more for nigerians expecting to get an extra 3 or 4 years out of them from what they paid for. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why they've won that U17 cup so many times in a row ... yet on the international stage they're not even close to being that competitive.

Still. I'm mainly concerned with Everton to be fair.

We should be very much on top of it.

 

[DualityNSNO]

Still. I'm mainly concerned with Everton to be fair.

We should be very much on top of it.

And Villa and Tamworth.

 

[Tubey]

And Villa and Tamworth.

The most expensive side in semi-professional history I'll have you know. Or something like that, I dunno, I was too busy hysterically laughing at it to remember verbatim.