Dozens of DR Congo national team players fail biological age tests

Democratic Republic of Congo have been forced to pull out of a regional qualifying tournament for the 2023 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations after 25 out of 40 players failed mandatory age testing, Report informs referring to BBC.

It is the latest age fraud scandal to hit the Central African Football Federations' Union (UNIFFAC) qualifiers after 32 players from host nation Cameroon failed age tests ordered by Samuel Eto'o, president of the country's governing body, Fecafoot.

However, of the 15 players who passed the age test, the statement also revealed "only five managed to complete the necessary administrative formalities" that would have allowed them to travel to Cameroon.

Four countries - Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic - will now take part in the qualifying competition, with UNIFFAC rescheduling fixtures between January 12 and 24.

Two teams will progress to April's Under-17 Nations Cup finals in Algeria.

"It's an organizational nightmare because we have to quickly come up with a new format that will involve four nations instead of the original five," a UNIFFAC official told BBC Sport Africa.