NNDC U-17 CUP: Organisers warn against age fraud

Organisers of the maiden edition of the U-17 Niger Delta Peace Cup have urged the co-ordinators of the participating teams from nine Niger Delta states to ensure all players are 17 years or below as no over aged player will be accepted. Organising Secretary of the youth football tournament and Secretary of the Grassroots Sports […]

Organisers of the maiden edition of the U-17 Niger Delta Peace Cup have urged the co-ordinators of the participating teams from nine Niger Delta states to ensure all players are 17 years or below as no over aged player will be accepted.

Organising Secretary of the youth football tournament and Secretary of the Grassroots Sports Federation (GRASOF), South South Zone, Coach Ada Gwegwe, said the essence of the competition is to discover talents and nurture the next generation of players.

He, therefore, said the whole essence of the tournament must not be defeated by use of over aged players.

Commending NDDC for partnering GRASOF to organise the tournament, Gwegwe said organisers won’t hesitate to disqualify teams that engage in age cheating.

“This is purely grassroots football and we want it to live up to expectation because it’s already high.

“As organisers we won’t tolerate teams registering any player older than 17 years, so we are calling on all the Coordinators of the Niger Delta States to abide by the rules or risk disqualification from the tournament.

“The Grassroots Sports Federation is passionate about wiping age cheats from our football system, because it has done more harm than good. Most of the legends we still celebrate today were scouted at a young age,” said Gwegwe.