Sports Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HARARE \u2013 Players competing in the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 COSAFA Qualifier in Harare will undergo mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to verify their eligibility, as tournament officials move to clamp down on age cheating and ensure a level playing field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The competition, which kicks off on Thursday, will see all participants scanned on their non-dominant wrist\u2014a method approved by FIFA to assess bone growth plates. Dr. Thulani Ngwenya, Vice President of the CAF Medical Commission and COSAFA Medical Officer, is leading the regional testing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMRI is a FIFA approved method used to determine eligibility to play in the Under-17 age group,\u201d Dr. Ngwenya explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the purpose of Under-17 tournaments, everyone who is a Grade 6 [fully fused growth plate] is therefore deemed ineligible to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized that the scan determines eligibility, not exact age:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an eligibility assessment, not an age determination assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strict enforcement follows past regional disqualifications\u2014including Zimbabwe\u2019s in 2020\u2014after multiple teams fielded ineligible players. According to CAF Medical Manager Dr. Sidiki Boubakary, the policy has significantly reduced infractions, from 7% in the 2018\/19 edition to below 1% in 2022\/23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Development Structures Questioned<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tournament comes amid criticism from former Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwari, who raised concerns over the selection process and the noticeable absence of players from traditional development hubs like Black Rhinos, Caps United, Dynamos, Highlanders, and Hwange in the national U-17 squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mwaruwari, a product of junior football structures in Bulawayo, attributed the gap to the collapse of development systems at major clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWithout proper development structures, chaos will prevail,\u201d Mwaruwari stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a proper setup, there is no need for trials; it\u2019s the processes that are transparent, laid bare, so that the best possible talent, regardless of financial position, gets selected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His concerns were echoed by Adomsi Mukasi of the Soccer Supporters Association and Zifa Southern Region chairman Lloyd Munhanga, who warned that the current approach favors academy players with resources over raw talent from diverse backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Young Warriors are set to begin their COSAFA campaign under close scrutiny, both on and off the pitch, as officials aim to balance sporting integrity with equitable talent development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a92025<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sports Reporter HARARE \u2013 Players competing in the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 COSAFA Qualifier in Harare will undergo mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to verify… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8922,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8920\/revisions\/8922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}