Age fraud is age fabrication or the use of false documentation to gain an advantage over opponents. In football, it is common amongst players belonging to nations where records are not easily verifiable. The media often refer to the player with false documentation as an "age-cheat".
There are several reasons why players choose to use false documentation. European scouts are looking for young talented players from poorer countries to sign for a European club. The players know that there is a lesser chance of being signed if they are, for example, 23 years old as opposed to 17 years old as there would be less time for the club to develop the player.
Age fabrication also allows an older player to enter in youth competitions. FIFA says that "over-age players have been wrongly entered into various youth competitions, often benefiting from an unfair advantage due to their greater physical maturity compared to players of the proper age." [1]
In some cases, it is possible for the player not to know their own date of birth and make an approximate guess when it comes to gaining official documents.[ citation needed]
The mandatory use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was introduced by FIFA in 2009 for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to help ascertain whether players are over age or not.
MRI is considered to be 99% accurate until the age of 17, after which it becomes harder for medical professionals to calculate a person's age. Professor Jiri Dvorak of FIFA said: "The efficiency stops at 17 and it's just pure coincidence that FIFA made their competition an Under-17 event". [2] Every bone in the arm and leg has an end plate from which bones grow. When the growth is completed (usually around the age of 17-18), then this end plate disappears on the MRI scans. [2] Dvorak concedes that the scan results "will be unjust to 1% of all examined players". [2]
The researchers had classified the scans into 6 grading system, as follows:
Grade | Comment | Eligibility for U16/U17 tournament |
---|---|---|
1 | Completely unfused (physis may be thin) | Player eligible |
2 | Early fusion: minimal hyper intensity within physis | |
3 | Trabecular fusion of less than 50% of radial cross-sectional area (number of sections (full width) with fusion below 50%) | |
4 | Trabecular fusion of more than 50% of radial cross-sectional area (number of sections (full width) above 50%) or more than 5 mm non-fused on any one section | |
5 | Residual physis, less than 5 mm on any one section | |
6 | Completely fused | Player not eligible |
Source: [3]
Of the 429 MRI conducted by the Asian Football Confederation in 2007, 10 players (or 2.7%) were found to be over the age of 16 years in an otherwise Under-15 tournament. In 2008, one out of the 116 MRI conducted had full fusion. [3]
Not everybody was pleased by the introduction of MRI. Nigeria had lost 15 players after they were proven to be over-age. Nigeria's Football Federation President Sani Lulu said: "I’ll not use the MRI to disqualify my players." [4] He felt that FIFA had sprung their decision to use MRI upon the nations.
Lulu wanted to invite the parents of the national Under-17 players to verify their sons' ages. Nigerian Sports Minister Sani Ndanusa dismissed the parent verification system and stated the "whole world has gone digital and we're following suit. We're no longer in the analogue era." [5]
Lulu stated that NFF did not need to scan players as it wasn't in the competition's rules and regulations. Ndanusa stated: "FIFA wants MRI scans used and we're going to adhere to that, simple." [5]
For the same tournament, the Gambia Football Association had scanned 53 of its players and "few" failed. It was suggested that "two or three" whom the MRI scan had revealed to be overage were participants at the 2009 African Under-17 Championship. [6]
We use over-age players for junior championships, I know that. Why not say it? It's the truth. We always cheat.
Anthony Kojo Williams, NFF Chairman, 1999-2000.
Age fraud is age fabrication or the use of false documentation to gain an advantage over opponents. In football, it is common amongst players belonging to nations where records are not easily verifiable. The media often refer to the player with false documentation as an "age-cheat".
There are several reasons why players choose to use false documentation. European scouts are looking for young talented players from poorer countries to sign for a European club. The players know that there is a lesser chance of being signed if they are, for example, 23 years old as opposed to 17 years old as there would be less time for the club to develop the player.
Age fabrication also allows an older player to enter in youth competitions. FIFA says that "over-age players have been wrongly entered into various youth competitions, often benefiting from an unfair advantage due to their greater physical maturity compared to players of the proper age." [1]
In some cases, it is possible for the player not to know their own date of birth and make an approximate guess when it comes to gaining official documents.[ citation needed]
The mandatory use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was introduced by FIFA in 2009 for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to help ascertain whether players are over age or not.
MRI is considered to be 99% accurate until the age of 17, after which it becomes harder for medical professionals to calculate a person's age. Professor Jiri Dvorak of FIFA said: "The efficiency stops at 17 and it's just pure coincidence that FIFA made their competition an Under-17 event". [2] Every bone in the arm and leg has an end plate from which bones grow. When the growth is completed (usually around the age of 17-18), then this end plate disappears on the MRI scans. [2] Dvorak concedes that the scan results "will be unjust to 1% of all examined players". [2]
The researchers had classified the scans into 6 grading system, as follows:
Grade | Comment | Eligibility for U16/U17 tournament |
---|---|---|
1 | Completely unfused (physis may be thin) | Player eligible |
2 | Early fusion: minimal hyper intensity within physis | |
3 | Trabecular fusion of less than 50% of radial cross-sectional area (number of sections (full width) with fusion below 50%) | |
4 | Trabecular fusion of more than 50% of radial cross-sectional area (number of sections (full width) above 50%) or more than 5 mm non-fused on any one section | |
5 | Residual physis, less than 5 mm on any one section | |
6 | Completely fused | Player not eligible |
Source: [3]
Of the 429 MRI conducted by the Asian Football Confederation in 2007, 10 players (or 2.7%) were found to be over the age of 16 years in an otherwise Under-15 tournament. In 2008, one out of the 116 MRI conducted had full fusion. [3]
Not everybody was pleased by the introduction of MRI. Nigeria had lost 15 players after they were proven to be over-age. Nigeria's Football Federation President Sani Lulu said: "I’ll not use the MRI to disqualify my players." [4] He felt that FIFA had sprung their decision to use MRI upon the nations.
Lulu wanted to invite the parents of the national Under-17 players to verify their sons' ages. Nigerian Sports Minister Sani Ndanusa dismissed the parent verification system and stated the "whole world has gone digital and we're following suit. We're no longer in the analogue era." [5]
Lulu stated that NFF did not need to scan players as it wasn't in the competition's rules and regulations. Ndanusa stated: "FIFA wants MRI scans used and we're going to adhere to that, simple." [5]
For the same tournament, the Gambia Football Association had scanned 53 of its players and "few" failed. It was suggested that "two or three" whom the MRI scan had revealed to be overage were participants at the 2009 African Under-17 Championship. [6]
We use over-age players for junior championships, I know that. Why not say it? It's the truth. We always cheat.
Anthony Kojo Williams, NFF Chairman, 1999-2000.