Nigeria’s hopes of competing at the 2025 CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON in Morocco have been dashed, as the Confederation of African Football, CAF confirmed that the Golden Eaglets have not qualified.
This comes after widespread speculation in recent days about the team’s chances, despite missing out on qualification during the WAFU B tournament last year in Ghana.
CAF recently announced that the 2025 U-17 AFCON will expand from 12 to 16 teams, fueling hopes that Nigeria could receive an additional slot. However, that was not the case.
Nigeria Overlooked in Tournament Expansion
According to a report the additional slots were distributed to other regional zones, WAFU-A (as the reigning champion’s region), UNAF (as the host zone), CECAFA, and COSAFA, leaving WAFU-B, where Nigeria competes, without an extra spot.
“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 confirmed on its website.
As a result, the five-time world champions, who were hoping to extend their legacy, will miss the U-17 AFCON for the first time since 2017.
This also means they will be absent from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, a tournament Nigeria has won a record five times.
Who Has Qualified?
So far, 12 teams have secured their places at the 2025 U-17 AFCON:
Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco (hosts), Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola
Four more teams will be selected to complete the 16-team lineup.
Golden Eaglets Left Behind
Nigeria finished third in the 2024 WAFU B U-17 Championship after defeating Ghana 3-2 in the third-place match.
However, only the top two teams Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast earned automatic qualification.
Notably, Gambia finished third in the WAFU-A qualifiers but still secured an AFCON spot due to the expansion.
In contrast, Nigeria, despite the identical placement in WAFU-B, was not given the same opportunity.
The 2025 U-17 AFCON is scheduled to take place from March 30 to April 19 in Morocco and will serve as the pathway to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in November.
However, Nigeria’s absence from the continental showpiece means they will also miss out on the global tournament.
A disappointing outcome for a nation that has long been dominant in youth football.
