South Sudan football has suffered a big blow after their U17 team was kicked out of the AFCON U17 championship that got underway on Saturday evening in Algeria.The Eastern African nation was keen on gracing the continental scene for the first time ever in the U17 category, but their dream has been cut short by CAF.##NAJAVA_MECA_7217559##The nation was kicked out after five of their players failed the mandatory magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), meaning they are overage and should not feature in the age category tournament.Sudan had been pooled in group C alongside defending champions Cameroon, Mali, and Burkina Faso.Albino Kuek Deng, the South Sudan Football Association Spokesperson has confirmed the unfortunate news in a statement.Wanyama achieves centurion milestone for Montreal in win over Kansas CityFull statementThe 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.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 CAF medical committee an official complaint against their decision attaching the MRI results we did in Juba , in accordance to Article 27.6 sub article (iii) of the U17 regulations. The complaint was rejected by the medical saying that their first and second readings remains the same.🚨🚨🚨South Sudan U17 have been disqualified from the #AFCONU17, following three of the players in their squad failing the MRI age tests.#TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 pic.twitter.com/NPC6VAYroQ— Football Report (@FootballReprt) April 29, 2023 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.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 disqualifications.Olunga scores a brace as Duhail inch closer to league title
