The last bureaucratic step has been completed and all the signs point to Francesco Camarda being called up by Stefano Pioli for the game against Fiorentina on Saturday evening.
To be included in the Rossoneri squad, Camarda needed an exemption and that document arrived this evening, which means that he will now be eligible to play at the weekend despite being just 15 years of age.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport, Calciomercato.com, Gianluca Di Marzio and others are reporting, the FIGC rules that 15-year-old players can also participate in competitive activities organised by the Leagues and the Women’s Football Division, provided they are authorised by the Regional Committee.
In this case, that authorisation was requested and obtained by Milan from the Lombardy Regional Committee, which in today’s press release announced: “Having seen the documentation produced by the interested companies, pursuant to art. 34, paragraph 3, of the NOIF, an exemption was granted to the following registered ‘young’ footballers: ‘Camarda Francesco’.”
Camarda thus becomes the first alternative to Luka Jovic, who will start against his former team due to a lack of centre-forwards. Olivier Giroud is disqualified and Noah Okafor injured his hamstring on international duty.
If he took the field, he would become the youngest debutant in the history of Serie A, beating Wisdom Amey’s record set with Bologna in 2021. The centre-back took the field at 15 years, 9 months and one day; Camarda will be 15 years, 8 months and 15 days old on Saturday.
