Council for Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) medical officer Dr. Thulani Ngwenya has also explained why the U-17 women’s teams will not be subjected to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests for the upcoming COSAFA U17 tournaments.
Unlike the boys’ Under-17 players who will be required to pass the MRI tests to be eligible to play in the tournament, their girls’ counterparts will not have to undergo the tests.
The boys’ competition will act as a qualifying event for the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2025. The tournament kicks off on December 4, with the final to be played on December 13.
The two finalists will secure their spots at the continental competition, scheduled for Ivory Coast next year.
In order to prevent any team from being disqualified from the continental competition, COSAFA will conduct MRI scans on the players.
“MRI is a FIFA-approved method used to determine eligibility to play in the Under-17 age group,” Dr. Ngwenya explained. “The images are taken on the non-dominant wrist, which is usually the left hand. The image takes about nine ‘slices’ of the growth plate.”
Why Girls Will Not Undergo MRI Scanning
Dr. Ngwenya also clarified that a failed MRI test does not imply the player is above the designated age.
“There are different stages of grading the growth plate, from 1 to 6. Grade 6 is the last stage where the growth plate is completely fused. For the purpose of Under-17 tournaments, everyone who is in Grade 6 is therefore deemed ineligible to participate in this age group category. The Confederation of African Football introduced this method to make our sport a fair and level playing field.”
He added, “This is an eligibility assessment, not an age determination assessment.”
The girls were exempted from the test due to the impact of menstrual cycles on their natural development.
“Girls have the natural situation of a menstrual cycle that really affects the development of their bones and directly affects their bone density,” Dr. Ngwenya said.
