62 players from a national team were fined for lying about their age

The Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) has just confirmed the suspension of 62 players because of an age fraud scandal, including Wilfried Nathan Douala – who claimed he was born in 2006.

Wilfried Nathan Douala currently plays for Cameroon’s Victoria United club and was called up to attend AFCON 2023 taking place in Ivory Coast earlier this year.

At that time, Douala declared that he was born in 2006, which means he was only 17 years old. The midfielder claimed that he was once considered one of the brightest young talents in Africa by FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o.

At AFCON 2023, Douala attracted special attention when taking photos with Chelsea legend Didier Drogba. Although Douala was born in 2006, not many people believe that this midfielder is only 17 years old when standing next to Drogba who is nearly 50 years old.

People ask big questions about the “age” of two people when standing next to each other. Just as fans suspected, after being examined by FECAFOOT (magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist to analyze bone maturity), Douala was discovered to have lied about her age.

In addition to Douala, 61 other Cameroon players were also suspended for age fraud. Although surprised by the number of players suspended for this, this is a burning problem in African football in general and Cameroon in particular.

Remember, early last year, FECAFOOT eliminated 21 out of 30 players participating in the U17 AFCON qualifying round after they failed to pass age tests. This problem tarnishes the image of Cameroonian football, so Mr. Samuel Eto’o cannot help but deal with it drastically.

Since Eto’o took over as president of FECAFOOT, this country’s football has continuously had scandals. For his part, the Barca legend is accused of being involved in match-fixing cases, spreading false information, threatening life, inciting violence and abusing power. Under great pressure, Eto’o submitted his resignation early last month. But the FECAFOOT Executive Committee did not accept Eto’o’s resignation and still placed faith in him.