Caf bans Ghana from next two U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers over age cheating

Ghana have been banned from the next two editions of the U17 Women’s World Cup African qualifiers by Caf following an appealed filed by Morocco over age cheating.

The decision follows Morocco's protest to Caf that a number of players were over 17 and ineligible to play in the first leg of the World Cup qualifier in May, a match the Black Maidens won 2-0.

Stella Nyamekye scored Ghana’s first goal from close range early in the first half before Nancy Amoh made it 2-0 with a beautifully taken free-kick in the 65^th minute to give the hosts a big advantage at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Morocco would tie the game in the second leg before winning it on post-match penalties to secure their ticket to the World Cup in India. Morocco won 2-0 in regulation time to tie 2-2 on aggregate and later prevailed 4-2 on post-match penalties at the Moulay El Hassan Complex in Rabat.

However, they pressed on with the charges and now Ghana will be out in the cold with a further fine of $100,000 slapped on them.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) intends to appeal the decision after Caf failed to consider its defence.

“The Association have three days to indicate its intention to appeal the decision and a further seven days to send our written statement of appeal to the Caf Appeals board. The GFA will study the full decision and respond with a written appeal accordingly,” the GFA said in a statement.

Morocco raised concerns over the eligibility of the players at the pre-match technical meeting, claiming they had documents to prove that five Ghanaian players were overage.

Although the Black Maidens Management Committee obliged to withdraw the suspected players from the team, the Moroccans still lodged a complaint to Caf over Ghana’s misconduct, leading to Monday’s decision.

Ghana had also accused Morocco of sabotaging their efforts during the return leg in Rabat. The Black Maidens claimed they were forced to hold their half-time meeting in the dressing room corridors after their room was ‘sprayed with chemicals.’

''Our dressing room sprayed with chemicals and we had to sit outside through the break,” the team complained via an online post.