Allegations of over-age players in Myanmar win

The ASEAN Football Federation, a division of the Asian Football Confederation, is reportedly investigating several allegations of fraud against teams in this year’s AFF Under 17 Youth Championship after rival players and coaches accused each other of sneaking older players into the tournament. The competition was held from 26 August to 4 September 4 in Bangkok, Thailand and was won by the Myanmar (Burma) team after a penalty shoot-out against Thailand.

AFF executive secretary, Yap Nyim Keong, said the organisation was looking into 'serious' cheating charges against several teams but Mizzima News comments that AFF does not require team members to provide their birth certificate or educational records – only a passport is required as proof of age. "The Burmese government is reported to have a history of trying to pass older players off as young blood and according to some Burmese sources, this type of cheating is so common in Burma that people have come to expect it," the newsagency's Alison Hunter stated.

Myanmar has won several regional tournaments in the past few years including the 2002 Under 17 ASEAN Youth Championship, the BIMSTEC Under 18 Youth Championship 2004 and the ASEAN Under 20 Youth Championship 2005 and AFC Media reports that four international teams will take part in the Grand Royal 2005 Challenge Cup scheduled to be held in Mynamra's capital, Rangoon, from 22-31 October. The Chinese and Indian U-20 teams have confirmed their participation in the competition which also includes the Bangladesh national team and Myanmar’s U-23s.