AFC to crack down on age violations at U-19

AFC to crack down on age violations at U-19

JAKARTA (JP): The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has
promised to take strong measures against any age violations
proven to have occurred during the ongoing Asian Youth Under-19
soccer championship finals.

"The problems will not finish once the tournament comes to an
end," AFC Vice President Nabon Noor said yesterday. AFC's top
Indonesian official admitted that there might have been a number
of overage cases in the championship's 58-year history.

"The problem is that we lack evidence. We have to respect the
validity of passports," Nabon said, adding there was no
indication of age violations through passport verification
procedures.

Nabon said a national soccer federation faces a two or three
year expulsion from international competitions by AFC if the
region's soccer body finds it guilty of violating age
requirements.

Kuwait's head of delegation, Mohammed Al Shamiri, told a press
conference on Tuesday that he suspected six participating teams
had brought in over-aged players to participate in the two-week
event. He refused to disclose which teams he thought were
cheating, but said that the Kuwaiti, Indonesian and Thai players
were not among the offenders.

Shamiri also blasted AFC for taking no strict measures against
violators. "They did know it, but they do nothing for the sake of
friendliness," he said.

Nabon said AFC will step in to resolve the row after the
championship. "Before entering this tournament, all participating
teams had agreed to allow us to conduct rechecking procedures by
examining their players' birth certificates and probably X-raying
the players," Nabon said.

X-raying is widely used in sports to detect an athlete's age
through his or her anatomy.

Nabon also defended AFC for not taking immediate action,
saying that such measures would impede the organization of the
tournament.

Syria favored

Friday's semifinals will focus rivalry between the region's
western hemisphere and its opposing hemisphere when Syria meets
Thailand and Iraq tackles Japan.

Syrian coach Marwan Arafat said yesterday his side was 100
percent ready not only to end Thailand's blistering run, but also
to bring home the championship title.

"Our chance has grown better as we play Thailand instead of
Japan or South Korea," Arafat said.

Syria, which edged out the defending champion 5-4 on penalties
in their qualifier, becomes the only team to reach the last four
rounds unbeaten. It has collected the tournament's highest points
of 10 and topped the tournament's goal record with 13 against
three.

Thailand admitted to being the underdog. "The Syrians are
strong, but there won't be a one-sided match," Thailand team
leader Thavatchai Sajakul said. A group of sponsors have
earmarked US$20,000 in cash rewards for each Thailand player if
the Southeast Asian side wins a final berth.

Finalists of the championship will enter the World Under-20
soccer championship finals in Lagos, Nigeria, next year.

Meanwhile, Japan was low-key yesterday about the semifinal
battle against Iraq. Coach Koji Tanaka expressed his guarded
optimism that his players would at least score a 1-0 victory.

"Beating South Korea is more than a morale building confidence
maker for us," he said. Japan nipped the South Koreans 1-0, while
requiring a draw to get into the semifinals.

The 1988 winner, Iraq, revealed optimism as well. Salman Ahmad
Akram, the national coach who led Iraq's World Cup campaign in
Mexico in 1990 and in the World Cup qualifying round in Doha,
Qatar recently, said he had learned a lot from those experiences.

"We drew the Japanese national team in Doha, which prevented
them from making a trip to the United States. SO why can't we
beat them now," Akram said. (amd)