The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has banned Sierra Leone from participating in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers in Senegal this October.

The ban follows after an MRI test conducted by the African football body found out that some of the players were ineligible to play in the U17. What this means is that some of the scan showed that some of the Sierra Leonean players are over the age of 17.

Sierra Leone will now join Guinea and Guinea-Bissau in the number of teams that will not participate in this year’s edition of the competition.

“The MRI tests revealed that three teams had exceeded the number of ineligible players,” West African Football Union (WAFU) Competition Department said on Sunday morning.

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The WAFU A category will now continue with five teams including the host Senegal, Gambia, Liberia, Mali and Mauritania in a single pool.

“The revised tournament schedule will be made public as soon as possible, and the competition kicks off tomorrow, Monday October 21, 2024,” WAFU said.

Sierra Leonean netizens have been reacting to the news with some citing that the FA spent thousands of Leones for MRI tests in Sierra Leone before leaving for Senegal.

“This is very shameful for the country and a complete waste of resources,” said Yusuf Sesay, a local football fan.

The news is a huge setback for youth football in the West African nation after a stellar performance in the just-concluded U20 competition in Liberia.