The Confederation of African Football has confirmed that Nigeria’s male U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, will not be participating in the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to take place in Morocco from March 30 to April 19.
Despite widespread speculation regarding their qualification prospects, Nigeria failed to secure a spot during the WAFU B qualifiers in 2024 in Ghana.
On Monday, CAF provided clarification about the upcoming 25th edition of the tournament, revealing that the Golden Eaglets have not yet qualified.
In a statement on their website, CAF noted, “Mali and Nigeria have each appeared at 10 finals tournaments since 1995, the most of any nation. That includes the 2025 edition in Morocco, which Mali have qualified for but Nigeria have not.”
There remains a possibility for Nigeria to still earn a place in the tournament, as the final lineup of teams is yet to be fully determined.
As of now, only 10 teams are confirmed: Egypt, Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, and Zambia.
CAF had previously announced an expansion of the competition.
“The Executive Committee approved the new format of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (U-17 AFCON) Morocco 2025 qualifiers increasing the number of participating teams from 12 to 16,” the organization confirmed last week.
With the tournament set to feature 16 teams, six additional spots will be filled through upcoming qualifiers.
Nigeria’s hopes were dashed after they finished third in the 2024 WAFU B U-17 Championship last year, defeating Ghana 3-2 in the third-place match.
Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, the first and second-placed teams, secured automatic berths.
The anticipation for an expanded U-17 AFCON grew following FIFA’s decision at the Bangkok Congress to increase Africa’s U-17 World Cup slots to 10 for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
Given the global competition’s expansion to 48 teams, many had expected CAF to adjust its qualification process accordingly.
The 2025 U-17 AFCON will also serve as a qualifier for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup, a tournament Nigeria has won five times.
