Age fraud in Indian football: Sandesh Jhingan says it’s the ‘elephant in the room’ | Football News
FC Goa defender Sandesh Jhingan shared his experiences with age-fraud in football and the challenges it creates for young players. He discussed this issue during the ‘Stay Your Age’ U-15 football tournament held from September 12 to 18 in Navi Mumbai.
“This needs to stop. The age-fraud thing has been an elephant in the room for so many years,” said Jhingan.
He highlighted that age-fraud can harm players’ confidence and cause self-doubt at a crucial development stage.He said playing against older players negatively impacts youth players’ growth.
“During my younger days, in the U-15 and the U-17 times, we always knew there was someone who was older but playing in our age group. I have many times felt that I was not good enough, because that boy was stronger, faster, and more mature than me, but all of that was only because he was older than me,” he said.
“At that age, when you are that young, even a difference of two years makes a massive difference in terms of the quality that you produce on the pitch. Luckily, I kept going and believing in myself,”Jhingan added.
The Stay Your Age Cup implemented a strict document verification process to ensure fair play. Teams accessed player documents to maintain transparency. The teams competed in five matches each using a league system format.
The tournament featured six teams: RFYC, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Dempo SC, FC Madras and Mizoram Football Association (MFA).
Jhingan emphasized the importance of fair tournaments for the accurate development of young players.
“It (age-fraud) needs to be stopped. It’s so sad that it still happens. It’s not just in football, but in all sports, all across the world. I think this needs to stop big time. I am really happy that all the clubs and the Reliance Foundation are coming together to solve this problem,” he added.
“This needs to stop. The age-fraud thing has been an elephant in the room for so many years,” said Jhingan.
He highlighted that age-fraud can harm players’ confidence and cause self-doubt at a crucial development stage.He said playing against older players negatively impacts youth players’ growth.
“During my younger days, in the U-15 and the U-17 times, we always knew there was someone who was older but playing in our age group. I have many times felt that I was not good enough, because that boy was stronger, faster, and more mature than me, but all of that was only because he was older than me,” he said.
“At that age, when you are that young, even a difference of two years makes a massive difference in terms of the quality that you produce on the pitch. Luckily, I kept going and believing in myself,”Jhingan added.
The Stay Your Age Cup implemented a strict document verification process to ensure fair play. Teams accessed player documents to maintain transparency. The teams competed in five matches each using a league system format.
The tournament featured six teams: RFYC, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Dempo SC, FC Madras and Mizoram Football Association (MFA).
Jhingan emphasized the importance of fair tournaments for the accurate development of young players.
“It (age-fraud) needs to be stopped. It’s so sad that it still happens. It’s not just in football, but in all sports, all across the world. I think this needs to stop big time. I am really happy that all the clubs and the Reliance Foundation are coming together to solve this problem,” he added.
