ABUJA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- FIFA said on Thursday it would carryout random Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans on the footballers' wrists in a bid to prevent the use of overage players at the Nigeria 2009 U-17 World Cup.

    Following allegations of the use of players far above the age for the championship, FIFA indicated after the South Korea 2007 edition won by Nigeria that MRI scans would be used to determine the ages of the players for Nigeria 2009.

    The body advised every association to ensure that all players of its representative team were born on or after January 1, 1992.

    "We know that it is not generally bad intention or purpose if players are biologically above 17 years," Yacine Zerguini, who is a member of the FIFA and CAF Medical Committees, said here on Thursday.

    "In some countries, birth certificates are inaccurate or even not available, without that necessarily being the fault of the player or the association," he added.

    He said FIFA medical experts would supervise the MRI test on randomly selected players to ensure that no team gained advantage by featuring overage footballers.