Football’s world governing body FIFA has now started an investigation on Congolese soccer player, Chancel Mbemba Mangulu, who allegedly appears to have four “birthdays”
“We are currently analysing all the documents at our disposal and investigations against the relevant entities are on-going,” FIFA told CNN.
Mbemba was part of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, considered one of the toughest tournaments in world soccer.
Confusion over his date of birth almost put an end to his dreams of a career with a top European club.
Mbemba was registered by his two first Congolese clubs as being born in 1988, according to documents obtained by CNN. Yet for a Cup of Nations qualifier in June 2011, his year of birth was listed as November 30, 1991.
Meanwhile, the birth date recorded by his Belgian club Anderlecht is August 8, 1994.
Just to complicate matters, Mbemba himself thinks he was born in 1990.
The movement of African players to Europe is long established. As many as 137 European clubs from 26 different UEFA member associations have released players for the Cup of Nations. Out of the 368 footballers competing in the tournament, over 50 per cent play in European leagues.
European clubs generally regard African players as athletically and technically gifted. Arguably just as importantly they are relatively cheap to buy, with the added potential that clubs can make a large profit if they are sold in the future.
But the issue of age is no trivial matter in football’s high-stakes world.
Key tournaments involving national teams, such as the Olympics and the Under-20 and Under-17 World Cups, have age limits for participating players. An over-age player brings the advantage of having increased physical development as well as more tactical training and experience at a high level on the pitch.
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