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Cape Town — At least 15 out of 40 players of the Nigerian Under-17 squad chosen for the African Cup of Nations tournament (Afcon) qualifiers have failed a mandatory age test.
The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests revealed that some players were said to be much older than the required age limit.
Score Nigeria revealed that the 15 players have been expelled from the Golden Eaglets squad with another batch of 15 players set to undergo age tests before replacing the players who failed the age test.
Last year a similar incident occurred when as many as 23 players failed the age test that resulted in the Golden Eaglets failing to qualify for the 2017 Under-17 Afcon tournament in Rwanda.
The seven-team qualifying tournament taking place in September is to be held in Niger with only the tournament winners advancing to the Afcon tournament in Tanzania next year.
In 2016, Nigeria’s 2015 Fifa Under-17 World Cup squad – who won the tournament for a record fifth time – had 26 of their 60 tested players disqualified after failing a mandatory MRI screening.
Only two of their starting XI remained available to play after the 26 players were deemed ineligible.
MRI scans can determine whether a player is below 17 with 99 percent accuracy. — Sport24.
Online Reporter