Africa U-17s: Morocco’s Gaffer Proposes U-13, U-15 Tourneys to CAF

Morocco’s U-17s’ coach Jamal Sellami has recommended U-13 and U-15 continental competitions to CAF to promote talent-nurturing from the early stages.

The current ongoing African U-17 tournament has been marred by claims of age-cheating with Senegal and Morocco accusing Guinea and Cameroon of fielding ineligible players.

The Junior Atlas Lions bowed out of the championship along with Senegal with the latter pursuing possibilities of being reinstated following their elimination.

The continent’s football governing body has reportedly received a letter from the Senegalese FA containing evidence purportedly from the Japanese FA suggesting a Guinean player is past the age he claims to be.

CAF has issued a communiqué rubbishing the claims, meaning Guinea and Cameroon are now to play the final this Sunday.

And suggesting to put a halt to the menace of age-cheating, Morocco’s Jamal believes CAF staging U-13 and U-15 tourneys could help in the future progression of the African game.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “The U-17 AFCON is a good tournament but I think we need to look at it in a broader perspective.”   [/perfectpullquote]

“I suggest to the authorities to consider similar tournaments for other age categories like U-15 and U-13. If we want Africa to win the FIFA World Cup, we need to start preparing these talents at the early stage,” Jamal tells Cafonline.com.