Cameroon U-17 Crush Central African Republic 9-0 in UNIFFAC Opener

The Cameroonian U-17 squad defeated the Central African Republic 9-0 at Douala to get off to a great start in the UNIFFAC tournament. Frank Mafany scored goals in the second and fourth minutes to give the young Lions the lead early on.

Noël Doumbogo scored in the 12th minute, Abraham Kolly added another in the 7th, and Kolly scored again in the 19th. Mafany completed his hat-trick in the 35th minute before Oscar Etoundi made it 7-0 at halftime.

In the second half, Cameroon continued its dominance. Doumbogo netted his second goal in the 64th minute, and Merlin Yimga Nkoutah sealed the win in the 85th minute.

Despite the win, controversy erupted when Dertin Boulengue, the coach of the Central African Republic, accused Cameroon of age fraud by fielding youngsters who were too young. This caused controversy, to which Jean Joseph Ngoma, Gabon's coach, retorted that such issues belong in the hands of medical professionals rather than coaches.

In order to maintain fair play, many are now advocating for stronger enforcement of rules regarding player age, which has been a persistent issue in young competitions.