South Sudan disqualified from Afcon U-17 qualifiers

The South Sudan U-17 team has been disqualified from the Zonal qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations U-17 which starts today in Rubavu, Rwanda.

Uganda Cubs were meant to start their campaign against the South Sudan team at the Umuganda Stadium this afternoon.

However, the South Sudan team was last night disqualified after four players failed to pass the Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI) test. The MRI test is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body and this helps to tell age. 

“It is true South Sudan is disqualified because some players failed the MRI test,” confirmed the Auka Gacheo, the Executive Director of the Council of East and central African Football Associations (Cecafa).

According to the new rules of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for any players who fails the MRI test, the whole team is disqualified from the competition. Last month four teams were disqualified from the Afcon U-17 qualifiers in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) region because players failed the MRI.

When Uganda Radio Network (URN) tried to reach the President of the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA), Francis Micheal Amin for comment, he did not pick his calls.

The tournament now remains with six teams (Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Djibouti) to battle for the two slots to qualify for the Afcon U-17 to take place next year. The competition will take place March 13-31 in Morocco.

Last month Uganda lifted the Zonal Afcon U-20 qualifiers in Tanzania to qualify for the tournament to take place in Mauritania.

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URN