FERWAFA petitions CAF over Uganda's use of ineligible player

Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) has petitioned the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to take action against Uganda over fielding a player with double identity during the recent Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations first round matches between the two countries. In the petition, FERWAFA alleges that during the first leg played in Kigali and the return leg in Kampala, Uganda fielded Vipers Sports Club goalkeeper James Aheebwa whose identity is questionable. FERWAFA charges that Aheebwa’s CAF Champions License with Viper Sports Club indicates that he was born on March 27, 1997, while according to his passport used in the U-20 qualifier against Rwanda, he was born on May 19, 1998. FERWAFA argues that this is against the CAF Under-20 rules. Article 46 of CAF U-20 regulations states that each player must possess a passport containing his photo and giving the full particulars of the player’s age (day, month and year of birth)…. a player who does not have a passport issued by the competent authorities, shall not be authorized to participate in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. It adds in case of a junior player participating in CAF Inter- Club competitions, he will not be eligible to participate in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations if the date of birth indicated in his license is different from the one indicated on his passport… Match officials who handled both qualifiers are also at fault as they didn’t ensure enforcement of a section in chapter 21 (list of players), article 47 which states that the commissioner and the referee must forbid any player on the list that does not conform to the standards of qualification of the competition from participation in the match, according to FERWAFA. The case is expected to be handled by the CAF Appeals Committee tribunal. However, efforts to get a comment from CAF by press time were futile as emails sent to CAF had not been replied. If FERWAFA succeeds in the petition, Rwanda U20 will proceed to the second round of the 2017 Zambia AFCON U20 Qualifiers. editorial@newtimes.co.rw