Kolkata : Once again, age fraud controversy has hit Subroto Cup and seen 3 teams disqualified owing to this fiasco.
The 63rd edition of Subrata Cup Junior Boys Under 15, in Bengaluru, saw 3 teams disqualified for fielding over aged (above 15 years) boys, as confirmed by skeletal age estimation test.
The three teams that were disqualified are Nazareth Model High School, Dima Hasao, Assam; Nehru Public School, Jamui, Bihar; and Ultou Govt. Model High School, Bishnupur, Manipur.
The Skeletal Age Estimation Test was conducted as per the rules and regulations of the tournament and the criteria set by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and the above mentioned teams were found to have fielded more than four players who were above the cut-off age (15), leading to their disqualification.
“The above mentioned teams were found out to field more than four players who were above the cut-off age which led to the disqualification of the teams”, said a source.
The matches that these 3 teams played were declared null and void with the 3 of them facing disqualification.
“This is not the first time this has happened. Every edition sees overage players coming to the Subroto Cup and getting disqualified due to stringent rules,” said a source.
According to sources, a total of 19 players were overage in the above-mentioned 3 teams, with 1 team having 7 overage players and the other 2 teams having 6 players each.
“Apart from these teams, we have 3 more teams that are awaiting the results,” the source added further. The other three teams are reported to be from Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
This isn’t the 1st time Subroto Cup saw this age fraud controversy. A total of 16 teams were disqualified in the previous season too due to the same issue. In the 62nd edition of the Subroto Cup, a total of 126 players were tested, of which 87 players failed the test and 34 players passed.
One of the School representative out of the three disqualified said, “The players submitted their age certificates, and we trusted them. It’s a fault on our part, but we will try to be more stringent next time”.
With such controversies the domestic tournaments of Indian Football might lose credibility.
