CAMEROON FOOTBALL FEDERATION INVESTIGATE ALLEGED AGE FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT

June 21, 2022June 21, 2022

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Cameroon’s football federation said in a statement that it has summoned 44 players from eight different teams for a hearing next month over alleged age or identity fraud.

They must be accompanied by their club presidents for an investigation that will take place in person from July 4 to 8, according to the federation.

All of them are suspected of “false titles (age and/or identity fraud) and complicity.”

“The parties concerned are invited to appear for their hearing, assisted or not by their counsel,” the statement continued, adding that those who failed to do so would face sanctions.

The hearings are a rare attempt in Africa to combat age cheating, also known as identity fraud, which continues to be a major cause of worry in African football.

Accusations of cheating are common, and many of Africa’s international junior tournament successes have been tainted by claims of over-age players, but there has been little effort to investigate or stop it.

Cameroon federation president Samuel Eto’o, the former Cameroon, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker, promised reform of the game in the central African country when he was elected in December.