Uganda’s failure to qualify for the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations has taken another dimension after conflicting records emerged concerning the age of Sudan forward Wail Galal Omer Alnoor.
Sudan defeated the Hippos 3-2 in Tuesday’s CECAFA qualifier semifinal at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, securing one of the region’s two places at next year’s continental tournament in Ghana.
However, documents seen by CK Sports Africa raise questions about the date of birth attached to Alnoor, who has featured prominently for Sudan during the qualifying tournament.
The official CAF media start list for Tuesday’s Uganda-Sudan semifinal identifies Sudan’s No.22 as Wail Galal Omer Alnoor, an Al Hilal Sports Club forward born on May 29, 2010.
A separate Al Hilal player registration list seen by CK Sports Africa contains a player bearing the same name, Wail Galal Omer Alnoor, but records his date of birth as May 29, 2005.
The records contain the same day and month but differ by exactly five years in the stated year of birth.
According to the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations regulations, every player must possess a passport containing their photograph and complete birth details, including the day, month and year.
The regulations state that a player cannot participate if the date of birth recorded on his registration licence differs from the date appearing in his passport.
CAF must also open an investigation whenever it receives information, regardless of the source, suggesting that fraud or forgery may have occurred.
If fraud or forgery is established, the responsible national association can be suspended from the following two U-20 AFCON editions, while its team can be eliminated if the competition remains ongoing.
The regulations treat administrative errors separately, although they can still result in elimination from the ongoing competition and suspension from the next edition.
In Alnoor’s case, the conflicting records do not independently prove that Sudan fielded an ineligible player.
The decisive evidence would be the birth date appearing on his passport, Sudan Football Association registration, club licence and documents submitted through CAF’s registration system.
Clarification from CAF, CECAFA, the Sudan Football Association and Al Hilal is therefore required to establish whether the discrepancy resulted from an administrative error, mistaken identity or inaccurate documentation.
CK Sports Africa has not independently established whether the Al Hilal registration document and CAF tournament record refer to the same individual, meaning the discrepancy alone does not establish that Sudan fielded an ineligible player.
The outstanding question is which date of birth is contained in Alnoor’s official registration and identification documents submitted for the CECAFA qualifier.
Clarification from CAF, CECAFA, the Sudan Football Association and Al Hilal would be required to establish why records bearing the same player name apparently contain different birth years, and whether any eligibility issue exists.
The issue is significant because Alnoor has been actively involved in Sudan’s campaign rather than merely being registered in their tournament squad.
He started Sudan’s 1-0 group-stage defeat to Uganda on Saturday and was substituted during the second half. Uganda won that encounter through Amour Munogera’s 71st-minute goal.
Alnoor had earlier scored twice as Sudan defeated Djibouti 3-0, helping them eventually progress as the best second-placed team from the three groups.
Uganda subsequently faced Sudan again in Tuesday’s semifinal, with qualification for Ghana 2027 directly at stake because both finalists would secure CECAFA’s two available places.
Captain Richard Okello put Uganda ahead after seven minutes, but Rudwan Mohamed restored parity just three minutes later.
Sudan captain Waheed Shandi completed the turnaround three minutes after halftime before Derick Ssozi equalised for Uganda in the 66th minute.
Mazin Taowr then delivered the decisive blow in the 82nd minute, giving Sudan a 3-2 victory and ending Uganda’s hopes of reaching the continental tournament.
Sudan will now face hosts Tanzania in Thursday’s regional final after the Ngorongoro Heroes defeated Burundi 2-0 in the other semifinal.
Juma Abushiri and Faraji Kayanda scored Tanzania’s goals in the 10th and 33rd minutes respectively. Both Sudan and Tanzania have already secured qualification for the U-20 AFCON in Ghana.