CAF Insists Golden Eaglets Of Nigeria Have Not Qualified For 2025 Under-17 AFCON

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that Nigeria’s male Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, has not qualified for the upcoming 2025 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), scheduled to take place from March 30 to April 19 in Morocco.

This decision follows widespread speculation regarding Golden Eaglets’ prospects, especially after they missed out on a qualification spot during the WAFU B qualifiers held in Ghana last year.

Recently, CAF shared important updates about the tournament, now expanded to include 16 teams, but confirmed that the Golden Eaglets have yet to secure their place.

CAF highlighted that both Mali and Nigeria have reached the finals 10 times since 1995, marking them as the nations with the most appearances. However, while Mali has earned qualification for the 2025 edition, Nigeria has not yet done so.

There remains a possibility for Nigeria to redeem this setback, as only 10 teams have been confirmed for the tournament so far, with the draw taking place later this month. The confirmed participants thus far include Egypt, Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, and Zambia.

CAF’s commitment to the tournament’s growth was reaffirmed in a statement last week, announcing that the executive committee has approved an increase in the number of competing teams from 12 to 16 for the Under-17 AFCON Morocco 2025 qualifiers.

Nigeria finished third in the last WAFU B Under-17 Championship, securing their position by defeating Ghana 3-2 in the third-place match. Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast earned automatic qualification by finishing in the top two spots of the tournament.

The expansion of the tournament has sparked excitement, particularly following FIFA’s recent decision at its Bangkok Congress to increase Africa’s slot for the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar to 10 teams for the 2025 edition. Given the global tournament’s expansion to 48 teams, there is optimism that CAF will adapt its qualification process to allow even more African teams to participate.

Notably, the 2025 Under-17 AFCON will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar, a competition that the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have won five times.