Paa Kwesi Fabin-“Mali U-17 Team Was Not Over-Aged”

Black Starlets head coach, Paa Kwesi Fabin, has slammed assertions that the Malian U-17 team taking part in the U-17 World Cup in India is over the age limit.

Mali beat Ghana 2-1 in the quarter finals of the tournament but lost 3-1 to Spain in the semis played on Wednesday.

Some observers said that the Malians were over the required age limit and that was why they beat Ghana.

However, Fabin says that all teams playing in the World Cup have been declared eligible by the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan which is used to determine the ages of the players.

“I cannot say that the Malians are over-aged. So far as they have been sanctioned by FIFA to play, then they are fit to play.

During the tournament, FIFA picks a number of players from each team and they undergo the scan. Usually, four players are chosen for the process. Mali was no exception and so, I cannot say that they are over the limit. They got the green light from FIFA to play.”

Fabin went on to say that Ghana goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad was within the age limit in response to some claims that the Asante Kotoko player was over-aged.

“Danlad was tested in Gabon during the African Championships. His scan revealed that the bone fusion in his wrist was at Grade 4 and that means that he was not over the age limit.”

How do MRI scans work?

According to the dynamics of an MRI scan, the wrist or distal radius, is scanned to determine the age of a player until he is 19 years.

The scan looks at the fusion of the radius and the higher the degree of fusion, the closer the player is to the age of 18 or 19.

However, some observers have found out that certain players may have fused wrist bones but may only be 16 years.

Source: Citifmonline