Former Kaizer Chiefs star Thuso Phala opened a can of worms when he made stunning disclosures regarding his ‘real’ age.
Phala recently appeared on the ‘Kota and Chill Podcast,’ where he reportedly admitted to age cheating in his amateur days.
Former Kaizer Chiefs star admits to age-cheating
The midfielder recently called an end to his 15-year career, having played for some of the country’s best clubs as well as Bafana Bafana.
It seems that the start of that career may have been aided by fudging the numbers.
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“Do you want my age or do you want my soccer age? Because there is an age that you leave at home and there’s one that you use on the soccer field,” Phala said when quizzed.
When probed about his true age, a 37-year-old Phala intimated that he may be as many as three years older than his ‘football ID’ indicates.
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“The soccer age is the one that you see now – the other one is at home. The Thuso Phala who played soccer is the age that you know. Are they gonna take my medals and cups [that I’ve won] back when they find out my real age, saying that I cheated them? If it’s a criminal offence then let’s leave it.
“How can you retire when you are 34? It’s only a scam in the junior levels, when we get to the first team, it doesn’t matter,” he continued.
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A plague on the game
The full extent of age-cheating in South African football has not bee uncovered but the practice is widespread and not limited to Africa and South America as some have suggested.
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It is unclear if Phala’s admissions will draw any sort of probe from the PSL, SAFA or FIFA.
