FIFA is conducting scientific studies into how to medically verify the age range of players for all of its aged competitions.
The research is taking the form of what was used to institute the MRI scans for the U17 championships.
All member associations of FIFA are required to undergo medical screening using MRI scans to verify the age range of players who want to compete at the U17 level before their respective qualifiers for major competitions start.
The MRI became the preferred choice for the U17 competition because during that stage of human development, the normally termed growth bone within the wrist is not completely fused.
This tests however cannot he used for the other aged competitions like the U20 and U23 because by that stage of human development, the growth bone within the wrist is fully expected to fuse.
FIFA is thus committing huge resources into the research to find out other ways by which players can be verified for their other aged competitions aside using the MRI test.
“The motive is to get the right players for the right competition,†Ghana FA Medical Committee member Dr Prince Pambo told GHANAsoccernet.com.
“FIFA realized that teams especially from South America and Africa usually don’t use the right aged players for its junior competitions.
“And that was what brought forth the use of the MRI scans for the U17 tournament.
“There is however currently no medical checks for the other aged competitions like the U20’s and U23’s.
“But I can tell you that studies are ongoing to find how players can be medically verified for these competitions.
“FIFA is doing a lot of research in that regard.â€
The MRI test being used for the U17’s is however limited to only male competitions, as Dr. Pambo explains, it cannot be used for the women’s game.
“The research that brought forth the use of the MRI tests was based on studies done on male humans within the age of say 14 to 19.
“Girls or Women were not considered during this research and therefore it is only used for the U17 competition for males.â€