Plain Speaking
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There are quite a few occasions where African players are apparently committing age fraud, particularly from Kenya and Nigeria. We need to be vigilent against this.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26174252" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26174252</a>
Why the problem of age fraud is 'rampant' in African football
By Andy Cryer BBC Sport Players lying about their ages in world football is a problem the authorities have been struggling to get to grips with for a long time.
This week, the issue raised its head again when Lazio threatened legal action against those who questioned the age of their 17-year-old Cameroonian player Joseph Minala.
The Italian club have denied claims he is 41 and state that his birth certificate is "absolutely legitimate".
BBC Sport takes a closer look at the issue age fraud in football, the reasons for it and what is being done to combat it.
Is age fraud a problem?
It is no secret that some African youth teams are often suspected of being full of overage players, with age scandals hitting the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya in the past.
Former Nigeria international Jonathan Akpoborie, 45, says age fraud is "rampant" in African football and describes it as the "biggest problem" the game faces there.
In April 2013, nine players were excluded from the African Under-17 Championship in Morocco after MRI wrist scans showed them to be over the age limit.
Congo-Brazzaville, Ivory Coast and Nigeria each had three players banned.
“Lazio would not have signed Minala before using an MRI scan to determine his age”
Jonathan Akpoborie
Former Nigeria striker
Later that year, Nigeria lost several key players for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in October for the same reason, while Somalia were expelled from qualifying for the 2013 African Under-17 championship for fielding over-age players.
Akpoborie, who now works as an agent, admits he knows of many players who "lied" about their age in African football.
He told BBC Sport: "It has been a big problem and still is. Some of them played at the Under-17 level and then a few years later retire because they can't run any more.
"Look at Spain's national team as an example of how it should be done. The likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta came through the youth teams. You can track their career all the way through.
"When you look at the African players playing for the Under-17s, maybe one or two years later they have retired because they can't produce what they produced at Under-17 level because they are so old. The wrong players are being given the platform."
Not that this a new problem. Fifa banned Nigeria from all international fixtures for two years after finding that the birth dates of three of their players in the 1988 Olympics were different from ones used by the same players in previous tournaments.
In 2003, Kenya's national Under-17 team was dissolved by the government after some players admitted to being over age.
Ben Koufie, a former President of the Ghana Football Association, told BBC World Service in 2012: " The problem has been bad for a long time but it is changing for the better.
"It is quite common, in certain cases, when you ask a player about his age, he will ask if you are asking about his football age or his actual age."
Also interesting article on wiki:
<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_fraud_in_association_football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_fraud_ ... n_football</a>
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26174252" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26174252</a>
Why the problem of age fraud is 'rampant' in African football
By Andy Cryer BBC Sport Players lying about their ages in world football is a problem the authorities have been struggling to get to grips with for a long time.
This week, the issue raised its head again when Lazio threatened legal action against those who questioned the age of their 17-year-old Cameroonian player Joseph Minala.
The Italian club have denied claims he is 41 and state that his birth certificate is "absolutely legitimate".
BBC Sport takes a closer look at the issue age fraud in football, the reasons for it and what is being done to combat it.
Is age fraud a problem?
It is no secret that some African youth teams are often suspected of being full of overage players, with age scandals hitting the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya in the past.
Former Nigeria international Jonathan Akpoborie, 45, says age fraud is "rampant" in African football and describes it as the "biggest problem" the game faces there.
In April 2013, nine players were excluded from the African Under-17 Championship in Morocco after MRI wrist scans showed them to be over the age limit.
Congo-Brazzaville, Ivory Coast and Nigeria each had three players banned.
“Lazio would not have signed Minala before using an MRI scan to determine his age”
Jonathan Akpoborie
Former Nigeria striker
Later that year, Nigeria lost several key players for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in October for the same reason, while Somalia were expelled from qualifying for the 2013 African Under-17 championship for fielding over-age players.
Akpoborie, who now works as an agent, admits he knows of many players who "lied" about their age in African football.
He told BBC Sport: "It has been a big problem and still is. Some of them played at the Under-17 level and then a few years later retire because they can't run any more.
"Look at Spain's national team as an example of how it should be done. The likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta came through the youth teams. You can track their career all the way through.
"When you look at the African players playing for the Under-17s, maybe one or two years later they have retired because they can't produce what they produced at Under-17 level because they are so old. The wrong players are being given the platform."
Not that this a new problem. Fifa banned Nigeria from all international fixtures for two years after finding that the birth dates of three of their players in the 1988 Olympics were different from ones used by the same players in previous tournaments.
In 2003, Kenya's national Under-17 team was dissolved by the government after some players admitted to being over age.
Ben Koufie, a former President of the Ghana Football Association, told BBC World Service in 2012: " The problem has been bad for a long time but it is changing for the better.
"It is quite common, in certain cases, when you ask a player about his age, he will ask if you are asking about his football age or his actual age."
Also interesting article on wiki:
<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_fraud_in_association_football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_fraud_ ... n_football</a>
