Cecafa U17: Banned South Sudan did not know players were over age

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After the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) confirmed that South Sudan were disqualified from the zonal Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) U17 qualifiers, the country has now issued a statement on the matter.

According to Cecafa, South Sudan’s U17 team were disqualified after four players failed the Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI) test. The regional body stated they relied on the Confederation of African Football (Caf) rules to issue the order banning the team.

The Caf rule states that a team is disqualified if just one or more of the players fails the test that helps to determine the age. The disqualification of the junior Bright Stars was confirmed by Cecafa Executive Director Auko Gacheo.

“Yes some of their players failed the test,” said Auka in Rwanda where the tournament is being held^[1].

The South Sudan Football Associations (SSFA) has now stated they were not aware that the players sent for the junior age-old tournament were above the required age.

“SSFA would like to place on record its strong commitment to integrity and full sportsmanship by following rules and regulations of all competitions,” the federation said on a Facebook^[2] post.

“The SSFA management confirms none of the staff knew the players were over age because their birth certificates indicated that they are seventeen or below hence the reason the players have been part of the squad's preparations and final selection for the tournament.”

The SSFA has promised to look into the matter as they affirmed their commitment to upholding the regulations of football.

“The MRI results stated otherwise which led to the disqualification of our whole squad, SSFA has and will always uphold strong integrity values and follow all rules and regulations that’s why we shall investigate why the above happened,” it added.

South Sudan were to open the campaign against their southern neighbours, the Uganda Cubs, in Rubavu District. The disqualification of the team, which forced Cecafa to reshuffle the fixtures, means the U17 championship will see just six teams battle for the two Afcon slots.

Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Djibouti are the remaining teams in Rwanda and will now battle for the Afcon tickets which the final two teams will grab and represent the Cecafa zone in Afcon.

The continental tournament will take place in 2021 in Morocco between March 13 and 31.

References

1. ^{^} said Auka in Rwanda where the tournament is being held (www.cecafaonline.com)
2. ^{^} Facebook (www.facebook.com)