U-17 AFCON: CAF Disqualifies South Sudan For Age Cheating

South Sudan has been disqualified from the ongoing U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Algeria, after 5 of its players failed the MRI Test used to ensure that all the players meet the age eligibility criteria.

• Read more: Every Team Wants To Beat Nigeria – Golden Eaglets Coach

Group C in the 2023 U-17 AFCON tournament will now have only 3 teams – Cameroon, Mali and Burkina Faso after the turn of events.

South Sudan’s FA (SSFA) Response:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

“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.”

“The MRI test was conducted on the 26th April 2023  to ensure that all players meet the age eligibility criteria set by the competition’s regulations. Unfortunately, we received yesterday 28th April 2023 notification from CAF that five of our players did not pass the MRI test and were deemed ineligible to participate in the competition, 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 immediately wrote a complaint to CAF medical committee an official complaint against their decision attaching the MRI results we did in Juba , in accordance to Article 27.6 sub article (iii) of the U17 regulations. The complaint was rejected by the medical saying that their first and second readings remains the same.”

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

“South Sudan Football Association  would like to emphasise 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. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, some of our players were unable to participate in the competition.”

“We would like to thank our fans, sponsors, and partners for their continued support, and we look forward to participating in future competitions. SSFA will conduct a press conference for more information about the team disqualifications.”

Sincerely.

Albino Kuek Deng,

SSFA Spokesperson.

SSFA.