The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has declared that all participating countries in Africa Under 17 Cup of Nations will undergo compulsory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests.
CAF Executive Committee during its meeting held earlier in April examined the Article 27 of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations Regulations following the recommendations made by the Youth Organizing Committee and the Medical Organizing Committee.
In this respect, CAF Executive Committee decided to make the following modifications to the Article 27 of the regulations of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations.
According to the article; an eligibility test will be compulsorily performed for all the participating teams before the start of the matches.
“If after performing the eligibility test (MRI) for a participating team and four (4) or more of its players are found ineligible, the participating team will be disqualified.
“If after performing an MRI test for a participating team and one (1), two (2) or three (3) of its players are found ineligible, the said player(s) will not be allowed to participate in the competition. The concerned team will be allowed to participate in the competition but is not authorized to replace the ineligible player(s).
“The following procedures shall be followed: All participating teams are expected to arrive five (5) days before the start of the competition. The host association shall cover the related costs.
“The participating teams may be subjected to MRI tests, to be conducted at the earliest five (5) days before the start of the competition. CAF reserves the right to conduct an MRI Test at any time before or during the competition.
“Any request for a second reading for a player found to be ineligible shall be addressed to CAF by email no later than 3 hours following notification of the outcome of the first reading.’’
This modification comes into effect from the date of notification of this decision and will be applied in the final tournament of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria 2023.
Nigeria’s U-17 boys under the tutelage of FIFA Cadet World Cup-winning Captain Nduka Ugbade however are gearing up for a final training camp in Germany ahead of the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations due in Algeria between 29th April-19th May.
