Golden Eaglets not qualified for Under 17 AFCON as CAF insists on a 12-team final tournament

By Linda Ike

The Confederation of African Football has disclosed that next year’s Africa Under 17 Cup of Nations will have 12 finalists in attendance, as against the minimum of 16 teams being projected by African football enthusiasts.

This means that the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have not qualified for the finals,
despite defeating the host nation, Ghana, in Tuesday’s third-place match of the WAFU B Under 17 Championship,

Nigeria Football Federation said in a statement, that Mr. Samson Adamu,
CAF’s Director of Competitions clarified in an interview.

It will recall that expectations had been high among African football fans that the 2025 Africa Under 17 Cup of Nations would be expanded, following FIFA’s allocation, at its recent Congress in Thailand, of 10 slots to the continent for the 2025 FIFA Under 17 World Cup that Qatar has been designated to host.

Qatar will host five consecutive FIFA Under 17 World Cup finals beginning next year, each having 48 teams in attendance.