DILI (19 June 2012) – The AFC recently successfully organised a seminar called ‘MRI for Age Determination’ for the West Asian region in the capital of Jordan – the first such a programme in the region following the AFC’s move to de-centralise their educational programmes.
Thirteen radiologists from 13 countries attended the seminar which was highly successful and well received by the participants who were happy with the new insights into age determination to ensure no overage players are fielded in AFC U-16 tournaments.
The AFC Under-16 Championship will be played in Iran this year in September.
The seminar instructors, Dr. Antoine Haddad (Lebanon) and Dato’ Dr. Gurcharan Singh (Malaysia), were pleased with the successful workshop.
Dato’ Dr. Gurcharan, who is also Chairman of the AFC Medical Committee, commented: “It is our intention to increase the pool of specialists especially radiologists in Asia.
“Member Associations can call upon them for their expertise and get clear professional advice with regards to age determination when in doubt.
“With the introduction of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) for age determination at AFC U-16 tournaments, the fielding of overage players has virtually come to a halt. This was a chronic problem that went unabated for years marring the image of the sport.
“A general consensus of introducing 3-D imaging of the growth plate of the radial bone may also take the assessment to the next level, a procedure that never has been done before.”
MRI for age determination is specific to U-16 tournaments and the protocol cannot be applied to other tournaments as well as female players.
At the confederation level, MRI scanning is solely to determine whether the player is either above or below the age of 16 years based on the fusion of the growth plate of the radial bone of the wrist.
The next seminar will be held in 2013 for the South and Central regions of Asia.
