Nigeria Not Among Confirmed Lineup of 16 Nations for 2026 U-17 African Cup of Nations

The Confederation of African Football has officially announced the 16 nations that will participate in the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, and notably, Nigeria will not be among them for the second time in a row.

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Nigeria's non-participation stems from their early exit in the WAFU Zone B qualifiers, where they lost 2-0 to Ghana in the semi-finals in September 2025, thus ending their bid to reach the continental tournament.

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The 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations is slated to take place in Morocco from April 25 to May 15, 2026, and will also serve as the qualifying pathway for African teams to the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

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With the FIFA U-17 World Cup expanding to 48 teams, the top 10 teams at the AFCON finals will earn a spot in the global tournament, providing a significant incentive for the participating teams.

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Algeria secured the final qualification spot by defeating Egypt 1-0 at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, thereby completing the list of teams that will compete in the tournament.

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The 16 teams that have qualified for the tournament are Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

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The qualification process for the AFCON is organized into six regional zones, namely UNAF, WAFU A, WAFU B, UNIFFAC, CECAFA, and COSAFA, with each zone hosting its own tournament to determine the representatives for the AFCON finals.