Former Hearts of Oak midfielder, Joe Tagoe alias Bobby Short, has openly admitted to age cheating during his football career, revealing that he once reduced his age from 35 to 19.
Tagoe, popularly known as Bobby Short, attributed his decision to poverty and an unfair system, which he believes compels players to falsify their ages.
He recounted an incident in 2017 when he altered his documentation after receiving an offer to play for an under-19 team in Egypt.
“I was home and received a call from Francis Martey that they (an unnamed Egyptian side) wanted an under-19 player. Looking at my height, I said okay,” he told ATV.
“At that time, I was recovering from an injury and training regularly. He saw I was doing well, so I had to change my passport to 19 years. In reality, I was around 34 or 35 years old. This is what poverty can make you do. The system is also not fair to us.”
Tagoe admitted facing significant challenges while training with the U-19 team, including health risks that nearly cost him his life.
“I would have died if I hadn’t taken care of myself. They said I was more mature than the kids, so they made me train with both the senior team and the U-20s. The U-20s required a lot of running, and I always felt dizzy after training. It was clear my age was catching up with me.”
He also revealed the lengths he went to conceal his real age, including hiding his grey hair by dying it every morning. However, the intense physical demands eventually forced him to quit.
“My grey hair was already showing, so I always carried dye with me and dyed my hair every morning. But I decided to leave because I would have died. Even if they had asked me to reduce my age to 15, I would have done it. There are many players like me in similar situations.”
Joe Tagoe gained cult status during his time with Hearts of Oak. Known for his flair and diminutive stature, he stood out on the pitch during games which earned him significant recognition after retirement.
EE/EK
