The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it will not accept the Fifa-approved MRI bone scans to determine the ages of players due to take part in the Under-17 World Cup.

In a move likely to raise more questions than it answers, the NFF president Sani Lulu rejected the use of MRI scans, saying they are "not in the rules and regulations of the tournament."

Lulu's comments come just weeks after the NFF dropped 15 players from their Under-17 squad after they failed the age-tests conducted.

Nigeria conducted MRI scans in a move seen as a pre-emptive strike at Fifa's requirement for all players to be age-tested during the tournament to be held in October in Nigeria.

But barely four weeks after the revelation, Sani Lulu has rejected criticism surrounding the tests, insisting he w ill not accept the MRI results.

"I've always maintained that I'll not use the MRI to disqualify my players because it's not in the rules and regulations of this tournament," Lulu told a local radio station in Lagos.

But his comments have irked Sports Minister Sani Ndanusa who has rejected calls to invite the parents of the national under-17 players to verify their sons' ages.

"We will not deviate from Fifa's requirement in terms of ascertaining players' true ages," a visibly angry Ndanusa told journalists in Abuja.

"The whole world has gone digital and we're following suit. We're no longer in the analogue era.

"Fifa wants MRI scans used and we're going to adhere to that, simple."

The spat between Lulu and Ndanusa has generated heated debate in Nigeria, with fans and the media calling for the sacking of top NFF officials.

Accusations of age cheating have blighted Nigeria's success at international age group tournaments in recent years.

The Golden Eaglets have won the Fifa Under-17 World Cup three times - 1985, 1993 and 2007.

oyb:

what do you expect from our officials?no be police commissioner whey dey talk say ribadu no enter naija

segzi cres:

they all need to scan their brains to see the size of their brains.

Nezan:

What a country . . . . . . . ?

By Ifeanyi Ibeh

August 20, 2009 11:44PMT


Flying Eagles handler Samson Siasia is confident about his players' chances of passing any age verification test that may be used to ascertain the age of players at this year's FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Egypt. Even if it's the Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan.

The MRI scan, when applied on the bone, usually around the wrist area, can to a high degree of certainty work out the age of a player and is set to be used at the U-17 World Cup scheduled for Nigeria between October 24 and November 15, 2009.

World football's governing body, FIFA, has not come out to declare whether the procedure that has been carried out to a smaller extent on players at the last three U-17 World Cups will be used for the tournament in Egypt but Siasia is not in the least bothered as he has declared that every player who eventually makes it into the national side ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt will be within the stipulated age bracket.

Passport proof

"I have not heard whether anything like that will be performed on players in Egypt," said Siasia in an interview with NEXT Sports yesterday. "But I am not bothered because the players I have in my team all fall within the age bracket.

"The ages on their passports make all of them eligible for the World Cup and I have no reason to doubt that as I wasn't present when they were born.

"They all play for their clubs, in Nigeria and abroad, and their ages have never been questioned. A lot of them have also represented the country at international competitions and their records are with FIFA so we have no reason to be bothered."

Departure date

The Flying Eagles were earlier scheduled to leave for Spain yesterday but will now depart next week to finalise their preparations for the World Cup which gets underway on September 24 in Cairo.

While in Spain, Malaga to be precise, the Flying Eagles will play series of friendly matches with local club sides which will be used by the team's coaching crew in selecting the final list of players for the World Cup.

"Hopefully, we will depart for Spain on Tuesday or Wednesday to commence our final preparations for the World Cup," continued the former Super Eagles striker, who may use the opportunity of the team's trip to check on the Venezuelans who will also be training in Spain around the same period as the Flying Eagles.

The Flying Eagles are grouped along with Spain, Venezuela and Tahiti in the junior World Cup.