Ghana Premier League legend Charles Taylor has admitted that he was 20 years old when he played for the national Under-17 team.
Taylor’s revelation follows the recent early elimination of the Black Satellites from the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.
In an interview on Angel TV, the former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko star spoke candidly about the long-standing challenge of verifying players’ ages in Ghana. He pointed to the lack of proper systems as a major contributing factor.
“If you pick players with original U-15 ages to play, they cannot even kick a ball. Although we have such teams, I doubt their ages. I also played for the national U-17 team, but I was older than that age. Those who played on the team were five or more years older,” Taylor said.
Taylor called on football authorities to take decisive steps to address age fraud and establish credibility in youth football. He highlighted Spain’s rising star Lamine Yamal as an example of the benefits of investing in genuine youth development.
“I was 20 years old while playing for the team, and nothing stopped me from playing. If we want to produce talents like Lamine Yamal, we should be honest with the ages of players,” he added.
A household name in Ghanaian football, Charles Taylor enjoyed a stellar career in the local league and represented Ghana at multiple levels.