The African Age Scandal

When Ghana beat Brasil in the U-20 FIFA World Cup last month, I alluded to the common belief that African players are often times older than their clubs or country claim. Since that post, I had the chance to talk with a former college teammate that just returned from working at an orphanage in Uganda. We chatted about the theory of over age African players and he definitely felt that it happens. Well, apparently so does a former Nigerian International. The article claims that Nigerian U-17 Captain, Fortune Chukwudi, is around a quarter of a century old. A lot of good those bone scans are doing, huh?

Fortune Chukwudi (R) and Ramon Azeez (L) of Nigeria and Antony Lozano of Honduras battle for the ball during the FIFA U17 World Cup Group A match between Nigeria and Honduras at the Abuja National Stadium on October 27, 2009 in Abuja, Nigeria.
(October 26, 2009 - Photo by Joern Pollex - FIFA/FIFA)