2023_U-17_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_qualification
2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
International football competition
The 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-17 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Algeria (North Zone) Mauritania (West A Zone) Ghana (West B Zone) Cameroon (Central Zone) Ethiopia (Central-East Zone) Malawi (South Zone) |
| Dates | 11 June 2022 – 18 January 2023 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 52 |
| Goals scored | 185 (3.56 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Siyabonga Mabena (9 goals) |
← 2021 2025 → | |
Players born 1 January 2006 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of twelve teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Algeria who qualified automatically as hosts.[1]
Since the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations was cancelled, this will be the first edition in Africa U-17 Cup of Nations to have expanded to 12 teams instead of eight. Each of the six zones received two spots in the final tournament.
| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Zone (UNAF) |
1 spot + hosts |
| |
| West A Zone (WAFU-UFOA A) |
2 spots |
|
|
| West B Zone (WAFU-UFOA B) |
2 spots | ||
| Central Zone (UNIFFAC) |
2 spots |
| |
| Central-East Zone (CECAFA) |
2 spots | ||
| South Zone (COSAFA) |
2 spots |
|
|
- Notes
- Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
- (H): Qualifying tournament hosts
- (Q): Automatically qualified for final tournament regardless of qualification results
- (W): Withdrew
- (D): Disqualified
The qualifying competition was split into regional competitions, with the teams entering the qualifying tournament of their zone. The schedule of each qualifying zone was as follows.
| Zone | Group stage | Knockout stage |
|---|---|---|
| West B Zone[9] | 11–18 June 2022 | 21–24 June 2022 |
| West A Zone[10] | 1–5 October 2022 | 7–9 October 2022 |
| Central-East Zone[11] | 3–9 October 2022 | 12–15 October 2022 |
| North Zone[12] | 8–14 November 2022 | — |
| South Zone[13] | 2–7 December 2022 | 9–11 December 2022 |
| Central Zone | 12–18 January 2023 | — |
The 2022 UNAF U-17 Tournament, which also served as the qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, took place between 8 and 14 November 2022 in Algiers, Algeria.[12] The four teams were placed in one group, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament. Algeria didn't participate in the tournament, as were automatically qualified for the final tournament as hosts.
All times are local, DPRA (UTC+1).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Morocco |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 | 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 2 |  Egypt |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Libya |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
The WAFU-UFOA Zone A qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were hosted by Mauritania with the matches played between 1 and 9 October 2022.[14] The draw was announced on 21 July 2022.[10]
All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).
Group stage
The six teams were drawn into two groups of three teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
- Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sierra Leone |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Mauritania (H) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Liberia (D) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[lower-alpha 1] |
Rules for classification: Group tiebreakers
(D) Disqualified; (H) Hosts
Notes:
- On 3 October, Liberia were disqualified from the qualifiers after two of their players failed to pass the MRI test. After this, both of their matches were cancelled and the group standings was decided only by the first match played on 1 October between Mauritania and Sierra Leone.[2]
| Mauritania | 0–3 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
- Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mali |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Senegal |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Cape Verde |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 |
| Mali | 7–1 | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | ||||||
| Sierra Leone | 0 (5) | |||||
| 9 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | ||||||
| Senegal (p) | 0 (6) | |||||
| Senegal | 1 (2) | |||||
| 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | ||||||
| Mali (p) | 1 (4) | |||||
| Mali | 2 | |||||
| Mauritania | 0 | |||||
- Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
| Sierra Leone | 0–0 | Senegal |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
|
5–6 |
|
- Final
| Senegal | 1–1 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
2–4 |
|
The WAFU-UFOA Zone B qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were hosted by Ghana with the matches played between 11 and 24 June 2022.[15] The draw was announced on 15 April 2022.[9]
All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).
Group stage
The seven teams were drawn into two groups of three and four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
- Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nigeria |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Ghana (H) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Togo |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
- Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Burkina Faso |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Ivory Coast |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Benin |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Niger |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 3 |
| Ivory Coast | 2–3 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Burkina Faso | 2–1 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Niger | 1–6 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 2–4 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | ||||||
| Nigeria | 3 | |||||
| 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium | ||||||
| Ivory Coast | 1 | |||||
| Nigeria | 2 | |||||
| 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | ||||||
| Burkina Faso | 1 | |||||
| Burkina Faso | 1 | |||||
| Ghana | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium | ||||||
| Ivory Coast | 2 | |||||
| Ghana | 3 | |||||
- Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
| Nigeria | 3–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
- Third place
| Ivory Coast | 2–3 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
- Final
| Nigeria | 2–1 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
The UNIFFAC qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were planned to be held in Cameroon between 7–12 January 2023 but was postponed and eventually played between 12 and 18 January 2023 due to a number of players being deemed overage by the MRI tests for Chad, DR Congo and Cameroon.[16][17][3]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cameroon (H) |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 6 | 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 2 |  Congo |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Central African Republic |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0 |
The CECAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were hosted by Ethiopia, with the matches played between 2 and 19 October 2022. The draw was announced on 15 September 2022.[18][19]
All times are local, EAT (UTC+3).
Group stage
The ten teams were initially drawn into two groups of five teams. Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea were drawn into Group A and Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda were drawn into Group B. However, on 26 September, Eritrea and Rwanda withdrew from the competition, leaving both the groups with four teams.[5][6] On 1 October, Djibouti and Sudan were disqualified from the tournament after some of their players failed the MRI test, leaving Group B with only two teams.[4]
A redraw was then conducted on 2 October, with three teams drawn in two groups.[11] The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
- Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tanzania |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Somalia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Ethiopia (H) |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 |
- Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Uganda |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  South Sudan |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Burundi |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| South Sudan | 1–4 | Uganda |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | ||||||
| Uganda | 1 (7) | |||||
| 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | ||||||
| Somalia (p) | 1 (8) | |||||
| Somalia | 3 | |||||
| 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | ||||||
| South Sudan | 1 | |||||
| Tanzania | 1 (3) | |||||
| South Sudan (p) | 1 (4) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | ||||||
| Uganda | 1 (1) | |||||
| Tanzania (p) | 1 (4) | |||||
- Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
| Uganda | 1–1 | Somalia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
7–8 |
|
| Tanzania | 1–1 | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
3–4 |
|
- Third place
| Uganda | 1–1 | Tanzania |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
1–4 |
|
- Final
| Somalia | 3–1 | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
The COSAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were played between 2 and 11 December 2022 in Malawi. The draw was announced on 4 November 2022.[13]
All times are local, CAT (UTC+2).
Group stage
The nine teams were initially drawn into three groups of three teams. Malawi, Botswana and Namibia were drawn into Group A; Angola, South Africa and Mauritius were drawn into Group B; and Zambia, Mozambique and Seychelles were drawn into Group C.
However, a few days later, Mauritius withdrew from the competition, leaving Group B with only two teams. A redraw was then conducted on 29 November, with eight teams drawn into two groups of four teams.[8] The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
- Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Malawi (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Botswana |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Namibia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Angola (D) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[lower-alpha 1] |
- On 1 December, Angola were disqualified from the qualifiers after a few of their players failed to pass the MRI test.[7]
- Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zambia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | South Africa |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Mozambique |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | |
| 4 |  Seychelles |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 | −17 | 1 |
| Zambia | 7–1 | Seychelles |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 9 December – Bingu National | ||||||
| Zambia | 4 | |||||
| 11 December – Bingu National | ||||||
| Botswana | 2 | |||||
| Zambia | 1 | |||||
| 9 December – Bingu National | ||||||
| South Africa | 0 | |||||
| Malawi | 1 | |||||
| South Africa | 5 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 11 December – Bingu National | ||||||
| Botswana | 2 | |||||
| Malawi | 5 | |||||
- Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
- Third place
| Botswana | 2–5 | Malawi |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
- Final
The following 12 teams qualified for the final tournament.[20] However, South Sudan was disqualified from the tournament after 5 players failed the MRI test.[21]
| Team | Zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in Africa U-17 Cup of Nations1 only final tournament era (since 1995) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria (hosts) | North Zone | 17 May 2021[1] | 1 (2009) |
| Nigeria | West B Zone | 21 June 2022 | 9 (1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019) |
| Burkina Faso | West B Zone | 21 June 2022 | 6 (1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011) |
| Senegal | West A Zone | 7 October 2022 | 2 (2011, 2019) |
| Mali | West A Zone | 7 October 2022 | 8 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2017) |
| Somalia | Central-East Zone | 12 October 2022 | 0 (debut) |
| South Sudan | Central-East Zone | 12 October 2022 | 0 (debut) |
| Morocco | North Zone | 14 November 2022 | 2 (2013, 2019) |
| Zambia | South Zone | 9 December 2022 | 1 (2015) |
| South Africa | South Zone | 9 December 2022 | 3 (2005, 2007, 2015) |
| Cameroon | Central Zone | 15 January 2023 | 7 (1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Congo | Central Zone | 18 January 2023 | 2 (2011, 2013) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
There were 185 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 3.56 goals per match.
9 goals
5 goals
Ousmane Camara
Yan Diomandé
Ibrahim Diarra
Emmanuel Mwanza
4 goals
Losika Ratshukudu
Webster Mzunda
Sylvester Otto
3 goals
Dorinel Yondjo
Abdul-Razak Salifu
Abubakar Abdullahi- Emmanuel Michael
Amara Diouf
Abdihafid Abdi
Benjamin Wallis
Arafat Nkoola- Lutetekelo Kapowa
- Marcel Zimba
2 goals
Abdou-Faridou Arouna- Yamirou Ouorou
- Apollinaire Bougma
- Abdramane Ouédraogo
Bienvenu Bizenga
Ayman Abdel-Aziz
Biruk Seyoum- Collins Agyemang
- Abdoulaye Doumbia
- Nambagui Soro
- Vincent Harrison
- Lucky Mkandawire
- Aboubacar Diarra
- Ange Tia
Abdelhamid Maali
Yanis Issoufou- Light Eke
- Daniel Sesay
- Mactar Sylla
Wissam Chaouali- Abdirahin Dahir
- Dhakier Lee
Nacim Dendani- Alex Yiga
- Kelvin Phiri
1 goal
- Taofik Seidou
- Boniface Manapolo
- Boikobo Matakula
- Sie Ouattara
Ramadhan Harimbabazi- Tizé Abib
- Collins Akamba
- Harouna Djibrin
- Ayel Nzouzi
- Hossam Abdelkarim
- Omar Moawad
- Omar Mohamed
- Abdul Rashid Adam
- Pius Adua
- Richard Apokum
- Aboubacar Méïté
- Inza Gballou
- Emmanuel N'Goran
Sanad Kerwash- Abdel Moamen Al Mabrouk
- Ahmed Al Mesmari
- Marwan Al Zakouzi
- Blessings Kanowa
- Mwisho Mhango
- Mahamoud Barry
- Ibrahim Kanaté
- Modibo Sissoko
- Adam Ashtar
- Ismail Bakhti
- Aiman Nair
Dorian Nanuseb- ?
- Mohamed Yacouba
- Ibrahim Djingarey
- Jubril Azeez
- Kevwe Iyede
- Lamine Sadio
- Omar Sall
- Issa Touré
Lorenzo Hoareau- Abu Bakarr Bangura
- Idris Bilal
- Xhosa Manyana
- Bennet Mokoena
- Thato Sibiya
Jonathan Gem- David Mabil
- Ajo Minari
- Abraham Okenny
- Yasin Charles
- Idrisa Iddi
- Ally Omar
Komi Ahouankpo- Anas Amdouni
- Moncef Al Gharbi
- Farouk Lubega
- Richard Okello
- Patrick Sembuusi
- Jamal Ssemwogerere
- Abubakali Walusimbi
- Samson Malaya
1 own goal
- Abdalath Baboni (against Ivory Coast)
- Julius Banda (against Botswana)
- Baye Coulibaly (against Cape Verde)
- "Decisions of CAF Executive". sportnewsafrica. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- Bonaventure, Kolog (3 October 2022). "Liberia disqualified from U17 tournament in Mauritania for age-cheating". ghanasportscenter.com. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- Bonaventure, Kolog (12 January 2023). "Le Tchad disqualifié, le tournoi UNIFFAC vire au fiasco". sportnewsafrica.com.
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- Gyimah, Edmund Okai (28 September 2022). "Rwanda withdraws from Cecafa U-17 tourney". New Times. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- Ndlovu, Maqonda (1 December 2022). "Change of fixture for U-17 football team". nampa.org. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- "New format for TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations". cosafa.com. 29 November 2022.
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- "Zonal Qualifiers for U-17, U-23 WAFCON draw unveiled". 21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- "Uganda Cubs to open against Burundi". CECAFA. 2 October 2022.
- "33 joueurs en regroupement à Alger". DZFoot. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- "Draw completed for TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup Of Nations". COSAFA. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- "Sierra Leone to open Wafu U17 against host Mauritania". 30 September 2022.
- "Ghana set to stage WAFU-B U17 Championship, tourney set for Saturday kick off". 10 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "les u20 et u17 fixes sur leurs adversaires a luniffac". www.leopardsfoot.com. 30 October 2022.
- "uniffac-u-17-20-pairings-made". www.cafonline.com. 20 November 2022.
- "Uganda to face Rwanda in TotalEnergies U-17 AFCON qualifiers for CECAFA Zone". CAF. 15 September 2022.
- "South Africa's Chavani to officiate U-17 AFCON qualifiers for CECAFA". cecafaonline.com. 30 September 2022.
- "TotalEnergies U-17 AFCON draw to be conducted on Wednesday 01 February". CAF. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- Ninrew, Chany (2023-04-30). "South Sudan U17 disqualified in AFCON over age test". Eye Radio. Retrieved 2023-06-03.