Omna Taddele
February 20, 2026Equatorial Guinea’s federation apologizes after U-17 team’s disqualification from UNIFFAC tournament
The Equatorial Guinea U-17 team before a pre-tournament friendly on February 16. Photo: FEGUIFUT
Equatorial Guinea’s federation apologizes after U-17 team’s disqualification from UNIFFAC tournament
Equatorial Guinea’s football federation (FEGUIFUT) has apologized after its U-17 national team was expelled from the regional Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) U-17 Championship, which is being held in DR Congo. The junior national side was automatically disqualified after six of its players were found to be overage.
According to Ahora EG, the national team underwent thorough MRI tests in the nation’s capital, Malabo, before departing for Kinshasa for the tournament. Nonetheless, a separate test conducted by UNIFFAC found that six of the players were over 17 years of age. The team has already returned home following their dismissal from the tournament.
FEGUIFUT stated that it followed all the necessary CAF procedures to assemble the team and called for transparency from UNIFFAC regarding the MRI test results. “While fully accepting the decision regarding the exclusion of our national team from the prestigious tournament, the Federation regrets the lack of transparency in the MRI tests carried out in Kinshasa, the final results of which were not formally delivered to the national team.”
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Nonetheless, FEGUIFUT publicly apologized for the incident. “Once again, we would like to publicly apologize to all the people of Equatorial Guinea. In the coming days, we will launch an internal investigation to prevent similar incidents from occurring again, as they not only damage the image of FEGUIFUT but also negatively impact the image of the country.”
The UNIFFAC U-17 Championship will now proceed with only four nations. Congo Brazzaville, Sao Tome & Principe and Chad have either been disqualified or withdrawn from the tournament. DR Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Central African Republic will compete for the two available spots to qualify for the 2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, which is scheduled to take place in Morocco in April.