PANAJI: India coach

was forced into a last-minute change of his final squad of 21 players after one player was found to be overage.

The Portuguese coach was clear about the 21 players that he wanted to take to Delhi for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup but was left with no choice but drop one of the more promising players in the team after MRI results showed that he was above the stipulated age.

The All India

Federation (

) had conducted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of all the probables just two days prior to the September 21 deadline of registering players. When the results came in a day later, all, except one, had cleared the test.

“When the coach announced the final list of players, there were some murmurs about the talented player being left out. Some suspected that he was being dropped to accommodate another influential player but he was later told about the MRI results,” said a source.

Interestingly, when the AIFF had conducted similar tests about six months ago, all players were cleared. “When the MRI was done, it showed complete fusion of the player's wrist. Doctors said he had registered a Grade 6, which means he was considered older than 17. FIFA rules also stipulate that if you register a Grade 6, you are not allowed to participate,” said the official.

The AIFF were simply following directions from FIFA, the governing body for world football, which asked all member associations to conduct their own MRI tests in the build-up to the tournament in order to en sure that players are compliant with the age limit. When the World Cup kicks off next week, FIFA will randomly choose four players from each of the 24 participating teams and test them under the supervision of their own medical experts. Any player who registers a Grade 6 will be sent home while disciplinary action will also be taken against the erring team.

All players participating at the U-17 World Cup should be a maximum of 17 years old by the end of the calendar year in which the competition is played. Players born on or after January 1, 2000 are eligible to participate.