- Charles Taylor confesses he was 20 when he played for Ghana’s U-17 team
- Taylor says age cheating is widespread due to weak verification systems
- He blames early exit of Black Satellites from U-20 AFCON on age fraud
Ghana Premier League icon Charles Taylor has revealed that he was 20 years old when he represented Ghana’s national U-17 team, reigniting the ongoing debate around age cheating in Ghanaian football.
His comments come in the wake of the Black Satellites’ early exit from the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.
Speaking on Angel TV, the former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko forward addressed the persistent issue of age discrepancies in youth football, attributing the problem to the absence of robust verification systems.
“If you select players who are genuinely under 15, many of them can’t even kick a ball properly. While we have youth teams in place, I doubt the authenticity of their ages,” he stated. “I played for the national U-17 team, but I was overage—20 at the time. Most of us were five or more years older than the age category.”
Taylor emphasized the need for football authorities to implement stringent measures to combat age fraud and restore integrity in youth development.
Using Spain’s rising talent Lamine Yamal as an example, he noted, “If we want to produce players like Lamine Yamal, we must be truthful about the ages of our players.”
Charles Taylor remains one of Ghana’s most celebrated local footballers, having represented the national team and played for two of the country’s most storied clubs.
