AFC says ‘no age-cheating’ in Under-16 tournament in India

Asian medical chiefs say that scientific testing has discovered no evidence of age-cheating in the AFC Under-16 Championship, which is also a qualifying tournament for next year’s U17 World Cup in India.
Iran, Japan, North Korea and Iraq have advanced to the semifinals of the AFC event, securing their places for the 2017 FIFA showcase.
After Nepal were punished after a failed MRI scan in the 2015 qualification round, AFC medical committee chairman Dr. Gurcharan Singh said that all players in the tournament itself had passed comprehensive checks.
“The AFC takes age-cheating very seriously, and has a comprehensive strategy in place to combat it through close monitoring, on-site screening, sanctions, and importantly, education,” Dr. Singh told the-afc.com.
“The AFC protocol for MRI scanning was devised by a panel of international experts, and is also
used by FIFA for the FIFA U17 tournaments. And thanks to our consistent strategy we are seeing great progress, as witnessed at the ongoing AFC U16 Championship.”
During last year’s qualification round, 98 players from 11 groups were tested. After a failed MRI scan, Nepal were excluded from the championship. Their matches in the qualifying competition were forfeited, and the All Nepal Football Association were fined.
The centrepiece of the AFC’s testing procedure is an MRI scan to determine the development of each player’s wrist or radial bone. By the age of 16, this bone is completely fused, according to medical experts.
At the current AFC U16 tournament in India, 20 players who had not taken part in last year’s qualifying round were tested. All came up clear.
In Thursday’s semifinals, Japan will face Iraq before Iran play North Korea. The final will be held on Sunday at the PJN Stadium in Goa.