FOR far too long the scourge of age cheating has proved detrimental to the development of football in the country.
But the SA Football Association (Safa) looks set to win the battle against the scourge after it signed an agreement with the German Football Association (DFB) to obtain and implement a comprehensive football enterprise software solution.
Safa CEO Robin Petersen has confirmed that implementation will start in the new year with provincial and regional leagues, both men and women, set to be the first to be registered in the system ahead of the next season.
The age-cheating phenomenon has seen the closure of development academies, Orlando Pirates being the latest professional team to announce a temporary closure of their academy to allow for thorough investigation and deal with the scourge in their development structures.
Kaizer Chiefs experienced similar problems two years ago when they were hit by an age-cheating scandal, which eventually led to them shutting down their academy.
But thanks to the advancement of technology, the country could be rid of the scourge which has seen junior national teams battling against their continental counterparts, most of who are known for their age-cheating exploits.
With the new system, every one of the three million registered players, officials, coaches and referees, as well as the 20000 clubs countrywide will be registered in a centralised database, accessible to all via the Internet, over the next five years.
"This implementation will put an end to the scourge of age cheating over time, as it will allow us to register and track players from the earliest age, and will make it exceptionally difficult to change identities or simply 'appear' on the scene at a late age," Petersen said.
"We have spent the past 18 months researching the best systems in the world, and have decided that the DFB system is the most comprehensive, most well built football management system out there.
"Fortunately, with our cooperation agreement with the DFB, we are getting this software licence free. Our only costs will be those of customising the system for local use, and a maintenance and support fee. This will transform football administration."
System to weed out age cheats
FOR far too long the scourge of age cheating has proved detrimental to the development of football in the country.
But the SA Football Association (Safa) looks set to win the battle against the scourge after it signed an agreement with the German Football Association (DFB) to obtain and implement a comprehensive football enterprise software solution.
Safa CEO Robin Petersen has confirmed that implementation will start in the new year with provincial and regional leagues, both men and women, set to be the first to be registered in the system ahead of the next season.
The age-cheating phenomenon has seen the closure of development academies, Orlando Pirates being the latest professional team to announce a temporary closure of their academy to allow for thorough investigation and deal with the scourge in their development structures.
Kaizer Chiefs experienced similar problems two years ago when they were hit by an age-cheating scandal, which eventually led to them shutting down their academy.
But thanks to the advancement of technology, the country could be rid of the scourge which has seen junior national teams battling against their continental counterparts, most of who are known for their age-cheating exploits.
With the new system, every one of the three million registered players, officials, coaches and referees, as well as the 20000 clubs countrywide will be registered in a centralised database, accessible to all via the Internet, over the next five years.
"This implementation will put an end to the scourge of age cheating over time, as it will allow us to register and track players from the earliest age, and will make it exceptionally difficult to change identities or simply 'appear' on the scene at a late age," Petersen said.
"We have spent the past 18 months researching the best systems in the world, and have decided that the DFB system is the most comprehensive, most well built football management system out there.
"Fortunately, with our cooperation agreement with the DFB, we are getting this software licence free. Our only costs will be those of customising the system for local use, and a maintenance and support fee. This will transform football administration."
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