Eaglets’ U-17 AFCON Qualification Remains Uncertain – CAF

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has clarified that Nigeria’s U-17 men’s team, the Golden Eaglets, has not secured a spot in the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), set to take place in Morocco from March 30 to April 19, according to The PUNCH.

This statement follows recent speculations about the team’s qualification despite failing to earn a ticket during the WAFU B qualifiers held in Ghana last year.

On Monday, CAF shared key details about the 25th edition of the competition, which has been expanded to feature 16 teams. However, the football governing body emphasized that Nigeria has yet to confirm its participation.

“Mali and Nigeria have each appeared at 10 finals tournaments since 1995, the most of any nation. That includes the 2025 edition in Morocco, which Mali have qualified for but Nigeria have not,” CAF stated on its website.

It remains uncertain whether Nigeria will get another opportunity to compensate for missing out during the qualifiers, as only 10 teams have so far secured their spots in the tournament, with the draw set to take place later this month.

Currently, ten nations have booked their places in the biennial competition: Egypt, Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, and Zambia.

In a statement issued last week, CAF announced that its executive committee had approved an expansion of the tournament.

“The Executive Committee approved the new format of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (U-17 AFCON) Morocco 2025 qualifiers increasing the number of participating teams from 12 to 16,” CAF stated.

At the moment, six additional teams are yet to be selected to complete the 16-team lineup.

Nigeria finished in third place at the 2024 WAFU B U-17 Championship after a 3-2 victory over Ghana in the third-place match. However, only the top two teams—Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast—earned automatic qualification.

Expectations for an expanded tournament arose following FIFA’s decision at its Bangkok Congress to increase Africa’s slots at the U-17 World Cup to 10 teams for the 2025 edition in Qatar.

With the global competition set to feature 48 teams, many believed CAF would adjust its qualification process to accommodate more African nations.

The 2025 U-17 AFCON will serve as a pathway to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar in November, a tournament Nigeria has won a record five times.