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Nigeria will not feature at the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations after the Confederation of African Football confirmed the final list of 16 participating countries, marking the second consecutive absence of the Golden Eaglets from the continental tournament.
The team’s failure to qualify followed a disappointing outing at the WAFU Zone B qualifiers, where Nigeria’s U-17 side was eliminated after a 2-0 semi-final loss to regional rivals Ghana in September 2025.
The tournament will be hosted by Morocco from April 25 to May 15, 2026, and will double as Africa’s qualification pathway to the expanded 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
With the global competition increasing to 48 teams, Africa will have 10 slots, which will be awarded to the top-performing teams at the AFCON finals.
Algeria secured the final qualification ticket after edging Egypt 1-0 at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, completing the roster for the tournament.
The confirmed teams for the 2026 edition include Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, hosts Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
CAF’s qualification format is structured around six regional zones—UNAF, WAFU A, WAFU B, UNIFFAC, CECAFA, and COSAFA—each staging its own competition to determine representatives for the continental showpiece.
