The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been forced to withdraw from a regional qualifying tournament for the 2023 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations after 25 out of 40 players failed mandatory age testing.
The Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) qualifiers have been hit by another age fraud scandal, after 32 players from host nation Cameroon failed age tests ordered by Fecafoot President, Samuel Eto’o.
The tournament will now proceed with four countries: Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Chad, and Central African Republic.
UNIFFAC officials have had to quickly come up with a new format, rescheduling fixtures between January 12 and 24.
The two teams that progress will move on to the April’s Under-17 Nations Cup finals in Algeria.