The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has revealed the 16 countries confirmed to compete in the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be hosted by Morocco from April 25 to May 15, 2026. The decision to qualify these teams was officially announced on CAF’s website on Sunday, following Algeria’s victory over Egypt in a decisive match at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium. This tournament serves as a crucial qualifying event for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will take place in Qatar later that year, with the top 10 teams from the U-17 AFCON automatically advancing to the global competition.
Morocco, as the host of the upcoming tournament, has automatically qualified, and the other 15 slots were filled through regional qualifying tournaments organized by CAF’s six recognized regional unions. These unions include North (UNAF), West A (WAFU A), West B (WAFU B), Central (UNIFFAC), Central-East (CECAFA), and South (COSAFA). Each zone conducts its own mini-tournaments, typically involving group stages followed by semi-finals or knockout rounds, depending on the number of teams participating, to determine the qualifiers for the continental finals.
The confirmed 16 teams for the 2026 U-17 AFCON are Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Morocco (host), Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Notably, Nigeria will miss out on this tournament for the second consecutive edition, a setback that has been widely reported. The Nigerian under-17 team, known as the Golden Eaglets, were eliminated after suffering a 2-0 loss to Ghana in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B qualifiers in September 2025. This loss means that Nigeria will not be among the 16 teams representing Africa in the next edition of the U-17 AFCON.
The tournaments organized by each regional union serve as the foundation of the qualification process, ensuring fair and competitive access to the continental finals. This zonal system helps to encompass the diverse talent across Africa while maintaining the integrity of the qualification process. As the qualifying phase concludes and the focus turns to Morocco’s hosting of the tournament, attention will shift to the teams’ preparation and strategies to secure their spots at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. For Nigeria, the missed opportunity serves as a challenge for the future, underscoring the need for continued improvement and strategic growth in their youth development programs. As the 2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations approaches, the stage is set for some of Africa’s best young talent to showcase their skills and v compete for a place in the wider world stage of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
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