Gambia Football (Soccer) Team

September 16th, 2008 filed in Soccer

Apparently age cheating can work both directions. Gambia is being scrutinized at Africa’s Under-17 Football (Soccer) Championship qualifiers for possibly using over-age players. The “Baby Scorpions” won their first round game 3-0 on Saturday to eliminate Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) was quick to protest to the Confederation of African Football (Caf) alleging that Gambia used over-aged players in the contest. The three players in question are Bojang Ebrima, Samateh Lamin, and Kawusu Japp. Gambian football authorities have quickly dismissed the claims, saying that Sierra Leone is bitter over the defeat.

Team manager Abdoulie Bangura states, “the allegations made against our players are false. We don’t cheat in any competition we enter, and we’ll never cheat.” He continued to say, “The players in question are eligible to play because they are within the age bracket. The Sierra Leone team officials want their fans to take their minds off the bitter defeat they suffered from us.”

Gambia BEAT Sierra Leone
Billy Beater

I would have to agree with Bangura on this. It really does sound like sour grapes. These young men have documentation stating they fall within the age bracket, and who is Sierra Leone to challenge that? If they can’t beat Gambia on the field, they have to accuse the team of cheating? It’s ridiculous that these tactics have become so common in sport. You win and lose on the field.

Gambia is CHEATing
Chester Cheater

This controversy comes straight off the heels of the Chinese Gymnastics Team age controversy at the Beijing Olympics where the gymnasts were accused of being too young to compete. This is the more common form of age cheating, where over-age players are utilized in order to dominate younger competitors. In international competition, age cheating seems to be very easy to get away with, as Gambia is doing here. The government only needs to provide paperwork with false ages in order to cheat in the competition. Which of course reminds me of this question. How old is Freddy Adu now, is he still 14?

What do you think, did Gambia CHEAT, or did they BEAT?