16 countries have qualified for the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations as announced by the Confederation of African Football.
The teams were confirmed on CAF’s website on Sunday, following Algeria’s qualification after defeating Egypt 1-0 at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium to seal their place at the continental finals.
The 2026 U-17 AFCON, to be hosted by Morocco, will run from April 25 to May 15, 2026, and serve as the primary qualifier for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
The top 10 teams from the finals will earn spots at the global youth championship, which expands to 48 teams and is scheduled for November 2026.
The qualified teams are:
• Algeria
• Angola
• Cameroon
• Côte d’Ivoire
• DR Congo
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guinea-Bissau
• Mali
• Morocco (The Host)
• Mozambique
• Senegal
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Uganda
Nigeria will not feature at the tournament for the second consecutive edition.
The Golden Eaglets suffered a 2-0 defeat to rivals Ghana in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B qualifiers in September 2025.
The qualification for U-17 AFCON works through a zonal system organised by CAF’s six recognized regional unions; North/UNAF; West A/WAFU A; West B/WAFU B; Central/UNIFFAC; Central-East/CECAFA; and South/COSAFA.
Each zone runs its own mini-tournament, typically featuring group stages followed by semi-finals or knockouts, depending on the number of participating teams, to determine the qualifiers.
Nigeria’s loss in the WAFU Zone B qualifiers semi-final dashed their hopes of advancing to the finals.
