Kano Pillars assistant coach Ahmed Garba, popularly known as Yaro Yaro, has claimed that veteran midfielder Rabiu Ali is younger than his officially recorded age, attributing the discrepancy to a documentation error made years ago.
Softfootball understands that Rabiu Ali is widely believed to be 44 years old, with official records listing his date of birth as September 27, 1980. However, Yaro Yaro insists that the Kano Pillars captain’s actual age is lower than what appears in CAF records.
The former Super Eagles forward explained that the error originated in 2007 while Ali was with Nasarawa United, ahead of the club’s participation in a CAF inter-club competition.
According to Yaro Yaro, an incorrect age was entered into the midfielder’s CAF registration documents, and by the time Ali joined Kano Pillars for their 2009 CAF Champions League campaign, it was too late to correct the mistake without creating administrative complications.
He said the club opted to retain the existing records, resulting in the widespread belief that Ali is significantly older than he actually is.
Yaro Yaro estimated that Rabiu Ali was only 17 to 19 years old when the registration error occurred, stressing that the midfielder has since carried the incorrect age throughout his career.
He described the issue as an unfortunate documentation mistake that could happen to any player and maintained that Ali is “not as old as reported.”
Despite the claims, Rabiu Ali has yet to publicly comment on the matter after attempts to reach him reportedly proved unsuccessful.
Yaro Yaro also praised the experienced midfielder’s influence at Kano Pillars, highlighting the reunion of Rabiu Ali with fellow veterans Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi.
He believes the trio’s leadership, chemistry and experience have lifted the overall performance of the team while providing valuable guidance to younger players.
Kano Pillars currently occupy fifth place in the Nigeria Premier Football League standings ahead of their Matchday 12 encounter against Heartland.
