Tanzania coach Boniface Mkwasa has voiced his concerns about Sierra Leone players at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, suggesting that some of the squad members may be older than the age limit for the tournament.
The Tanzanian team had just lost to Sierra Leone 1-0 in Ismailia, and the West Africans, making their debut in the tournament, became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals.
“These are local players, most of them are playing the second division or the first division,” Mkwasa said during his post-match interview.
“Even this team, Sierra Leone, if you see them, they are a bit bigger and age-wise it’s not under 20 if you see, but we put more effort now to build up this youth programme so that in the future we come up with a good and strong side.”
In order to curb age-cheating, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has taken several steps, including introducing MRI scans.
But this can only work up to the U-17 boys’ level and not beyond that.
Interestingly, Tanzania themselves are under some scrutiny having registered three players who have different ages on other relevant platforms.
Two players appeared in the Tanzanian league as 22-year-olds and another one as a 23-year-old, but they have been registered as U-20 players in the U-20 AFCON, according to SABC Sport.
Zambia coach Boyd Mulandwa reckons the biggest challenge is that age-cheating is difficult to prove in some instances.
“But for the boys to develop their careers. The age, some of them, when you look at them, they don’t look to be under 20, but there’s nothing that we can do because we are not the ones who have produced those documents from their parents,” he noted.
“Their parents are in a good position to say these guys are 20 or not.”
