Online Reporter
PLAYERS competing at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 COSAFA Qualifier in Harare this week will undergo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to confirm their eligibility for the tournament. The competition kicks off on Thursday and runs under strict regulations that have become a key part of age group football in Africa.
The MRI assessments, introduced by CAF several years ago, are designed to prevent age cheating and ensure a level playing field. Leading the process in the region is Dr Thulani Ngwenya, vice president of the CAF Medical Commission and COSAFA Medical Officer, who has overseen these tests for years.
“MRI is a FIFA approved method used to determine eligibility to play in the Under-17 age group,” Dr Ngwenya explained. “The images are taken on the non dominant wrist, which is usually the left hand. The image takes about nine ‘slices’ of the growth plate. There are different stages of grading the growth plate, from 1 to 6. Grade 6 is the last stage where the growth plate is completely fused. For the purpose of Under-17 tournaments, everyone who is a Grade 6 is therefore deemed ineligible to participate in this age group category. The Confederation of African Football introduced this method to make our sport a fair and level playing field.”
Dr Ngwenya stressed that a Grade 6 result does not necessarily mean a player is over age. “This is an eligibility assessment, not an age determination assessment,” he said.
The system was adopted after high profile eligibility scandals rocked the region. In 2020, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini and Zimbabwe were all disqualified from the COSAFA Qualifiers for the U17 AFCON Morocco 2021 after one or more players failed MRI scans. Since then, CAF has insisted on compulsory testing, with players needing to be born on or after January 1, 2009, for this edition.
Questions have often been raised about why the tests apply to boys only, not girls’ U17 competitions. Dr Ngwenya explained the difference: “Girls have a natural situation of a menstrual cycle that really affects the development of their bones and directly affects their bone density.”
CAF Medical Manager Dr Sidiki Boubakary said the policy has delivered results. “As per the statistics, we move from 7% (2018/19 edition) of ineligibility to below 1% (2022/23 edition). We never see overage players in the U17 category. Now, we are having truly U17 boys playing,” he told CAFOnline.
Dr Sidiki added that Africa’s realities require stricter enforcement to protect youth football. “In Africa, we have our own realities that are different from those of some confederations such as UEFA. To give these young boys the chance to compete with players in the same category as them, we must continue with this MRI protocol. And even provide a protocol for the upstream and downstream categories (U15 and U20) to achieve traceability leading to young and competitive players in senior categories.”
Online Reporter