South Sudan U-17 have been disqualified from the 2023 AFCON which began yesterday in Algeria. Revealing this unfortunate update on their social media handle, the South Sudan Football Federation said 5 of its players had failed the MRI tests which were conducted on all the players by the CAF medical team and were tagged “Non-Eligible” by CAF.
This disqualification means only 11 countries are eligible to participate in the tournament.
“The South Sudan Football Association regrets to announce that our team has been disqualified from the AFCON U17 Algeria 2023 due to the non-eligibility of five (5) players after the MRI test.”
Responding to CAF’s heavy sanction, the Federation said, two of the five players who failed the test were part of the team which participated in the zonal qualifiers and passed the MRI eligibility in Ethiopia last September 2022. CAF rejected their claims, saying their first and second readings on the players remain the same.
“The MRI test was conducted on the 26th April 2023 to ensure that all players meet the age eligibility criteria set by the competition’s regulations. Unfortunately, we received yesterday 28th April 2023 notification from CAF that five of our players did not pass the MRI test and were deemed ineligible to participate in the competition, Although two of the five players were part of the team which participated in the zonal qualifiers and passed the MRI eligibility in Ethiopia last September 2022.
We immediately wrote a complaint to the CAF medical committee, an official complaint against their decision attaching the MRI results we did in Juba, in accordance with Article 27.6 sub article (iii) of the U17 regulations. The complaint was rejected by the medical staff, saying that their first and second readings remain the same.”
The Federation bowed out after CAF rejected their appeal, they thanked and apologized to their fans and sponsors.
“We fully understand and respect the decision made by the competition’s organizers, and we apologize to our fans, sponsors, and partners for any disappointment this may cause.
The South Sudan Football Association would like to emphasize that we have always been committed to fair play and sportsmanship. We have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that all our players meet the eligibility criteria set by the competition’s regulations. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, some of our players were unable to participate in the competition.
We would like to thank our fans, sponsors, and partners for their continued support, and we look forward to participating in future competitions. SSFA will conduct a press conference for more information about the team’s disqualification.”
