Age fraud

RF Young Champs: Bengaluru FC, FC Goa, Dempo SC, FC Madras, Mizoram FA & RF Young Champs have come up with an open letter to the stakeholders of Indian Football. The open letter condemns age fraud in Indian football, highlighting its negative impact on safety, fairness, and the sport's growth. It calls for an amnesty scheme and stricter penalties for adults responsible for age falsification.

“It is important to acknowledge that Age Fraud is never the fault of the children. No child wakes up in the morning and decides to fudge their documents to gain an unfair advantage. It is a collective failure of the system and primarily the adults involved - the coaches, administrators, and, unfortunately in some rare cases, the parents.”

“Age Fraud brings with it a litany of problems that affect the football ecosystem. To begin with, allowing physically mature, older players to compete against younger, correctly aged children poses significant safety risks. The disparity in physical maturity can and has led to severe injuries, endangering the well-being of younger honest children. This is unacceptable,” read the statement posted on social media.