Cameroon Football Governing Body, FECAFOOT has suspended 62 players for age fraud, including the youngest player of their squad for the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The official list was released by FECAFOOT including 17-year-old Wilfried Nathan Douala who was a surprise inclusion in Coach Rigoberto Song’s squad for the Nations Cup in January. According to FECAFOOT, the Victoria United skipper lied about his age and therefore disqualified the player from appearing in the Elite League’s play-off games. Douala’s real age hasn’t been disclosed, but he joins 61 other players who have also been suspended for concealing their ages.
The move comes as FECAFOOT aims to lessen the administrative issues previously faced during and after the end of the Cameroonian football season. Song was praised for spotting Nathan Douala playing in the domestic league and was surprising to see his inclusion in the tournament. The midfielder failed to get on the pitch during the tournament as Cameroon was knocked out in the last 16 by the Competition Runners Up, Nigeria.
It would be recalled that it is the third year in a row that Cameroon has been hit with a suspension for age fraud. In 2022, Cameroon’s Football Federation charged 44 players from eight different clubs for a hearing into alleged age or identity cheating, with the President of the Federation, Samuel Eto’o keen to eradicate the problem in the Country. In January 2023, a fresh scandal was raised after 21 members of their Under-17 squad were disqualified over the same issue.
