The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has banned Sierra Leone from taking part within the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers in Senegal this October.
The ban follows after an MRI check performed by the African soccer physique came upon that among the gamers have been ineligible to play within the U17. What this implies is that among the scan confirmed that among the Sierra Leonean gamers are over the age of 17.
Sierra Leone will now be a part of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau within the variety of groups that won’t take part on this 12 months’s version of the competitors.
“The MRI tests revealed that three teams had exceeded the number of ineligible players,” West African Football Union (WAFU) Competition Department mentioned on Sunday morning.
The WAFU A class will now proceed with 5 groups together with the host Senegal, Gambia, Liberia, Mali and Mauritania in a single pool.
“The revised tournament schedule will be made public as soon as possible, and the competition kicks off tomorrow, Monday October 21, 2024,” WAFU mentioned.
Sierra Leonean netizens have been reacting to the information with some citing that the FA spent hundreds of Leones for MRI exams in Sierra Leone earlier than leaving for Senegal.
“This is very shameful for the country and a complete waste of resources,” mentioned Yusuf Sesay, a neighborhood soccer fan.
The information is a big setback for youth soccer within the West African nation after a stellar efficiency within the just-concluded U20 competitors in Liberia.
