Gabonese international, Guelor Kanga, will meet with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to discuss a dispute over his date of birth – as Kanga claims to be born in 1990, but his mother died in 1985.
Who Is Guelor Kanga?
The Gabonese midfielder began his footballing career in his home nation in 2007, playing for Mangasport, before donning the kit of Missle FC and CF Mounana.
Kanga left Gabon in 2012, signing for Russian side FK Rostov, where the attacking midfielder made 80 appearances – contributing to 22 goals (8G+14A).
Alongside this, the ’33-year-old’ (more on that later on) won his first piece of silverware as a professional footballer – picking up the Russian Cup in 2014.
After four years in Russia, Kanga began a new venture in Serbia, joining Red Star Belgrade on a free transfer in the summer of 2016.
In his opening season, the midfield maestro scored eight goals, whilst also providing 15 assists in 33 appearances and appeared in every Champions League qualifier.
During his second campaign, Kanga signed for Sparta Prague in the January window of 2017, but was still awarded with a league winners medal for Belgrade.
Kanga spent three seasons with the Czech side, making 81 appearances and scoring 31 goals, helping his side win the league title in 2019/20.
He then went on to re-sign for Belgrade in 2020 on a free deal and has gone on to winning the domestic double in each of the last three seasons.
Across his spells in Serbia, Kanga has made 204 appearances and contributed to 103 goals, (43G+60A) – playing against Manchester City in the Champions League this season.
Why Has Kanga Kaku Caused Controversy?
Kanga played for his country at AFCON in 2015, is officially 33 years old, having been born in Oyem, Gabon, on September 1, 1990.
However, in 2021 the midfielder was asked to give substantial evidence that his date of birth was genuine by the CAF.
This proof had a multitude of documents, including a family composition certificate, a property deed, his father’s passport application form and an identification sheet for one of his grandparents.
CAF, after investigating the matter at hand, believed Kanga to be telling the truth and believed there was not enough evidence against the midfielder.
However, an investigation has re-opened as reports suggest that Kanga’s mother passed away in 1985 – which would make his 1990 date of birth impossible.
If guilty, then Gabon could be sanctioned with forgery and miss the upcoming African Cup Of Nations, whilst also being excluded from the following two tournaments.
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