Addis Ababa, March 13, 2024 (FBC) – The Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) has suspended 62 domestic league players for inconsistencies regarding their identities, including Wilfried Nathan Doualla, a player who was selected for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) earlier this year.
According to several reports, Fecafoot published a list of player registrations for the Cameroonian first division play-offs on Monday and detailed that 62 players would be ineligible. Of those, 52 players, from 15 clubs, were suspended under the charge ‘double identity’.
Wilfried Nathan Doualla who plays for Victoria United is among 62 players who have been suspended from the domestic league by Fecafoot, the report mentioned.
Doualla did not feature at this year’s Nations Cup finals, where Cameroon was knocked out in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Nigeria.
Yet, after being called up by then coach Rigobert Song, there was much comment on social media about whether Doualla was really a teenager when pictures of the player first surfaced, BBC reported.
His inclusion in the squad in Ivory Coast could lead to the five-time African champions being banned from future tournaments if his registration is proved to have been falsified.
Nations Cup regulations state that if a fraud or a forgery has been committed, the national association concerned will be suspended from participation in the following two editions of the continental showpiece.
BBC’s report further noted that for any administrative error in the registration of players, the national association concerned will be suspended from the next edition, the rules add.
BBC Sport Africa confirmed that it has contacted the Confederation of African Football (Caf) for comment, while Fecafoot has not responded to an email sent to its communication department.
Doualla and 61 other players – including six of his Victoria United team-mates – were disqualified from appearing in the Elite League’s play-offs by Fecafoot until they can prove their identities.
The move to clamp down on age cheating, or identity fraud, comes as the authority aims to eradicate the administrative issues blighting the domestic game in the country, it was indicated.