“Age Cheating” Controversy Pushes Equatorial Guinea to the Brink of UNIFFAC Exit

The UNIFFAC U-17 tournament in Kinshasa has been plunged into crisis even before the opening whistle, with issues threatening the start of the competition.

Originally scheduled to begin on February 17, the competition was already delayed by 24 hours due to organizational hurdles. Now, the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation (FEGUIFUT) is threatening to withdraw its team entirely, alleging a lack of transparency and manipulation regarding mandatory MRI age-verification tests.

The heart of the dispute lies in an alleged breach of standard medical protocol, as FEGUIFUT claims that the results of the tests performed in Kinshasa were sent directly to the CAF medical department without the team’s own physician being notified. This lack of communication is compounded by the fact that the players had already undergone testing at the Guadalupe Clinic before leaving their home country, where they were all cleared for competition. Despite these prior results, the tournament’s referring physician, Dr. Bungu, reportedly flagged six anomalies once the team arrived in Congo, yet he has failed to provide any formal reports or visual imagery to support his findings.

In light of these discrepancies, the Equatorial Guinean federation has taken a hardline stance, arguing that verbal medical results are professionally unacceptable and indicative of a lack of clinical transparency. They have gone as far as to accuse Dr. Bungu of a lack of professional ethics and deontology, suggesting that the selection process is being manipulated behind the scenes. Consequently, the federation has made it clear that they will not participate in the tournament unless UNIFFAC provides concrete, documented proof of the failed tests.

This escalating tension only adds to the mounting pressure on an organizing committee that is already struggling to maintain the tournament’s integrity. With the Republic of Congo having already pulled out due to internal administrative issues, the potential departure of Equatorial Guinea would be a devastating blow to a competition that serves as a vital pathway to the 2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

UNIFFAC has explicitly stated that the competition’s next steps depend entirely on a definitive decision from CAF, which is the sole authority competent to rule on this eligibility crisis.