Later today Canada could find African upstarts Equatorial Guinea in their group for next summer's Women's World Cup. Tiny and oil rich the country has advanced quickly through the ranks of women's football by employing legal but ethically questionable methods of developing a squad. Namely, it's poached the best players from surrounding countries with the promise of cash.
There has long been a fear of a Middle Eastern oil state fielding a bunch of Brazilians in the World Cup and many of the strict cap-tying rules in place are, at least in theory, there to prevent that sort of team buying. However, in the women's game things are a little less organized. Thus, smaller countries looking for some football glory might be tempted to be ethically flexible in their interpretation of the spirit of the game.
In Equatorial Guinea's case they might have taken things a step too far. Above is striker Salimata Simpore. She has been accused of, well, being a he. Photos can lie, of course, but it is difficult to look at the above shot and not wonder.
Also accused of being male is Genoveva Anonma.
The Nigerian Football Federation has made an official complaint to CAF. The organization has not yet to respond, but past history tells us that it's not likely to do much. Gender is way too touchy an issue for sports organizations to tackle.
What are we going to do? Pull down their pants before the match. Hardy har har.
The integrity of the competition demands that these charges are taken seriously and that something is put in place moving forward to ensure that these types of questions aren't asked again. That's what would be fair to both the athletes competing against Simpore and to Simpore herself. If she is legit she should not be subjected to these type of rumours.
And if he isn't, then he should never be heard of again.