New Delhi: A few days ago, Bengal led by example as they dropped the over-aged boys from the squad for the under-17 B.C. Roy Trophy, which is being held in Ranchi.

If the Indian Football Association (IFA) officials should be lauded for the efforts, the act of the other state associations has brought upon shame on the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

According to AIFF sources, the tournament is witnessing rampant age fudging by a host of participating states. To make it worse, the federation has hardly attempted to stop the malpractice.

“Bengal are one of the few states, who stuck by the rule book and fielded a side that had footballers within the stipulated age,” said an AIFF official. “Teams like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya also adhered to the age restriction.

“For the rest of the states, it has become a free for all,” claimed the official.

A coach of a participating state suspected the entire gameplan was to save a particular state team, though they failed to reach last four. “I was aghast to see that AIFF had made no arrangement to test medical examination of the boys when it was clear that a host of states had openly fielded over-aged boys.”