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August 20 - A row between world governing body FIFA and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is set to break-out over MRI scans designed to find out whether players are young enough to take part in the under-17 World Cup.

 

 

It has been claimed that up to 16 prospective players from Nigeria have already been ruled out of the tournament, which is due to begin there on October 24 where the host country will be the defending champions, after the bone scans found that several were older than they claimed.

 

 

The NFF Deputy Secretary General Emmanuel Ikpeme said: "Yes, we have received the report, but we have not as a Federation sat down to deliberate on it; but we will soon take a definite action on the matter; we are on top of the situation."

 

Every player representing the 24 countries due to take part in the World Cup will be subjected to the test, FIFA have ruled.

 

Nigeria have won the FIFA under-17 World Cup three times - 1985, 1993 and 2007 - but fans and media alike have long questioned the ages of some of the players that had represented the country in those competitions.

 

The ages of a number of top Nigerian players has come under the spotlight in recent years, including Nwankwo Kanu, who has won the European Cup with Ajax, Premiership with Arsenal and FA Cup with Portsmouth, amd Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who plays for Everton.

 

The NFF complained to the Football Association in England last year after Everton manager David Moyes reportedly said he did not believe Yakubu's age.

 

Moyes said: "He's only 25, albeit a Nigerian 25, and so if that is his age he's still got a good few years ahead of him."

 

The NFF claimed Moyes' comments were "insulting to the Nigerian nation".

 

John Obuh, the coach for the Nigeria under-17 team, has already hit back at the accuracy of the MRI test and claimed that his country is being unfairly targeted by FIFA.

 

Obuh said: “FIFA is aware that the bone test is not reliable.

 

"Let me tell you all the [Nigerian] players taken to the last World Cup Finals failed the bone test in South Korea.

 

"And they are not alone in this.

 

"All other teams to the 2007 Finals failed it too, Germans, Spaniards, everyone.

 

"They all failed the test supervised by FIFA.

 

"We should stop deceiving ourselves.

 

"I have seen the current set of players whose eligibility is now being questioned after they allegedly failed the test.

 

"They are much younger than the team that beat Spain to win the under-17 World Cup in South Korea."