Player Registration : Understanding The Process

The issues of age fraud and double identity are age-old cankerworms in football. But as the sport develops, stakeholders are coming up with mechanisms to reduce the vice. It is against this backdrop that the world football governing body, FIFA brought in the FIFA connect pogramme. The current suspected cases of double identity in Cameroon have raised eye brows but the Cameroon Football Federation says it is working according to the stipulated rules and regulations. It is therefore important to understand how the FIFA connect programme functions in Cameroon and why the vice persists.
The Functioning
The FIFA Connect Programme helps member associations (MAs) register all their stakeholders in a systematic way and keep track of players, coaches and referees – wherever they are in the world. The Connect Programme provides a unique FIFA ID code for every individual who has a role in the football organisation. This code is like a digital football passport number and has the information of the history of each stakeholder. In Cameroon, sources at the federation explain that each club fills the license file of the players (ID card, birth certificate, and minors put the identification documents of their parents) and registers them online. They send it to the Cameroonian Football Federation; that treats them and it is printed in the different regions.
Why Fraud Persists
With...