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Samuel Eto’o became the President of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) in December 2021. One of the promises he made was to combat the issue of age fraud and bring back professionalism in the country’s soccer. As a part of his promises, the former Barcelona striker unearthed the biggest scandal in the country’s soccer.

It may result now in Cameroon struggling to gather a team for the U-17 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. Fecafoot has suspended a total of 32 players so far that were called to the U-17 tournament amidst the age fraud scandal.

Samuel Eto’o aims to raise the image of Cameroonian soccer 

The former Barcelona striker took over the reins of Fecafoot in December 2021. He is in with a vision for improving the image of soccer in Cameroon and Africa. The Athletic quotes, “Eto’o, 41, is desperate to professionalize the footballing culture of a country that beat Brazil at the recent World Cup but has only got past the group stage of the sport’s biggest global competition once — in 1990.”

As part of these efforts, Eto’o ordered MRI tests to know the age of the players called for the U-17 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. However, 21 of the initial 30 players have failed as MRI tests have shown they are overage last month. Now, an additional 11 players have failed the age tests leaving Fecafoot in concerns.

The qualifiers are set to begin this Thursday. Fecafoot will have put in efforts to put a squad in place for the qualifiers. Cameroon is in the group with the Republic of the Congo, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic. The top two teams will qualify for the continental tournament.

What’s next for the Cameroon federation?

It is not the first time that Cameroon faced such an issue. In 2017, Fecafoot banned 14 players from participating in the U-17 AFCON. Now, they have suspended 32 players who failed the age tests amidst speculations over the efficacy of MRI tests. FIFA introduced these tests in 2009 for the U-17 World Cup.

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Age fraud is the biggest challenge not only for Cameroon but African soccer overall. Many previous winners of the competition at the junior level have faced such accusations. Fecafoot has shown a way to other federations, not only from Africa but worldwide, to act against age fraud. 

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It will be interesting to see how Fecafoot puts a team together for the qualifiers this week. They have suspended 32 players called so far. Also, this paves the way for further actions in the future to combat age fraud. Let us know your opinions.