South Sudan disqualified from AFCON U17 due to age fraud

The nation have been banned from the competition following using over-age player

Due to age-related wrongdoing, South Sudan has been excluded from the current AFCON U17 in Algeria. Five of their players' MRI examinations were found to be negative, which is confirmed. Players who were born on or after January 1, 2006, are eligible to compete in this year's competition.

To confirm that all participants match the age eligibility requirements established by the competition's rules, an MRI exam was performed on April 26, 2023.

The organisation said that they appealed the judgement to the CAF medical committee, but that their appeal was denied since their first and second readings were unchanged.

In October of last year, South Sudan overcame Tanzania 4-3 in a penalty shootout to secure their first-ever spot in the AFCON U17.

Also Read: AFCON U17 2023 Everything you need to know

The African country were placed in Group C with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon.

The top four teams in the competition, which began on Saturday, will represent Africa in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2023.

The legislation has changed, and instead of stating that the team will be disqualified if one player fails the MRI exam, it now says that the team will be dismissed if a minimum of four players do.

The statement that follows has been released by the South Sudan Football Federation.

"The South Sudan Football Association regrets to announce that our team has been disqualified from the AFCON U17 Algeria 2023 due to the non-eligibility of five (5) players after the MRI test," according to a statement from SSFA.

“Unfortunately, on 28th April 2023, we received a notification from CAF that five of our players did not pass the MRI test and were deemed ineligible to participate in the competition.

They further said: “Although two of the five players were part of the team which participated in the zonal qualifiers and passed the MRI eligibility in Ethiopia last September 2022.”

“We fully understand and respect the decision made by the competition’s organizers, and we apologize to our fans, sponsors, and partners for any disappointment this may cause."

“South Sudan Football Association would like to emphasize that we have always been committed to fair play and sportsmanship."

“We have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that all our players meet the eligibility criteria set by the competition’s regulations.”