The Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) has suspended sixty-two (62) players, including Wilfried Nathan Douala, who was part of their squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast earlier this year.
Douala and the other 61 players have been suspended for “double identity” following suspicions of the players possibly hiding their actual ages.
The Cameroon-based midfielder, who plies his trade with Victoria United, has been sanctioned for claiming to be 17 years old in an unprecedented age fraud scandal that has hit the Central African nation.
???? OFFICIAL: The Cameroonian Federation has suspended 62 players for age fraud, including Wilfried Nathan Douala, Victoria United midfielder who was selected at the last AFCON and claims to be 17-years old! ????
These 62 players, including Douala, were suspended for double… pic.twitter.com/1s5eaaH9VG
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) March 11, 2024
Although he failed to feature in any of the Indomitable Lions four games at the 2023 AFCON, in which they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Nigeria, Douala was the topic of discussion on the lips of many football fans ahead of the tournament, with a host of individuals and football experts raising concerns over his actual age.
It is left to see if the midfielder and the other 61 players will face further sanctions or lengthy bans from FECAFOOT and Africa’s football governing body, CAF, for competing at the senior international stage under age fraud and pretenses.
