In July, 2018, the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) Executive Committee met in Mumbai and one of the decisions taken at the meeting was the implementation of Tanner Whitehouse 3 (TW3) method for all age-group competitions in India.

The TW3 method uses X-Rays of the left hand and wrist to examine the skeletal maturity of a person and thereby determine their bone age. The bone age obtained from the result of this test would then be the sole criterion to determine players' eligibility in age-group tournaments, as opposed to chronological age which was the yardstick until the 2017-18 season.

From using age-proof documents to verify a player's age to using the TW3 method, the intention to make the change was to curb age fraud in Indian football. While the intent is appreciable, the method chosen and its implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

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The qualification for U-13 and U-15 Youth League, which is now rechristened as Junior and Sub-Junior league, has given rise to several questions. According to the latest guidelines by the AIFF, the bone age of a player should not exceed 14 for Sub-Junior League and 16 for Junior Leagues.

One of the reasons why the AIFF rechristened the tournaments is because they wanted to save themselves from being taken to court. If someone whose birth certificate says he/she is 12 years old and the AIFF says they can't play in the U13 tournament, they are liable to be sued. Hence, they have conveniently renamed the age groups as such.

Most importantly, both FIFA and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) do not follow the TW3 method and accepts only MRI scan results for age verification. This means that a player, who is eligible to take part in age-group tournaments for the Indian national team, may be denied participation in the Indian age-group leagues.

Several players who have played and selected for the national team have now been disqualified after going through the AIFF-nominated TW3 tests to take part in the U-15 and U-13 league at the club level. In fact, two Bengaluru FC players who had passed the TW3 test conducted by the AIFF and the Government of India to be a part of the Indian national team at the 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship, have now been ruled out of the U-15 I-League due to AIFF's insistence to conduct the TW3 tests for the youth leagues in their own way.

The football season in India begins on June 1 and ends on May 30. The implementation process started in August and the tests were completed only in November. The tests were done in centres nominated by AIFF and the cost for it was INR 1500/- per player. For a club taking part in both the Junior and Sub Junior leagues with a squad of 30 players, the total cost just for the TW3 tests amounts to INR 90,000/-.

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