CAF clarifies reason why Golden Eaglets couldn’t qualify for AFCON

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Africa football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has clarified that next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations will still have 12 teams in attendance against the minimum of 16 teams being projected.

This means that Nigeria’s U-17 national team has not qualified for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire despite beating Ghana 3-2 in the third place of 2024 West Africa Zone B (WAFU-B) U-17 Qualifiers.

“The final tournament will still have 12 teams,” CAF’s Director of Competitions, Samson Adamu, told thenff.com.

Expectations had been high among African football aficionados that the 2025 Africa U17 Cup of Nations would be expanded, following FIFA’s allocation, at its Congress in Bangkok, penultimate week, of 10 slots to the continent for the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup that Qatar has been designated to host.

Qatar will host five consecutive FIFA U17 World Cup finals beginning next year, each having 48 teams in attendance.

With the recent development, Nigeria will not qualify for consecutive FIFA U-17 World Cup unless there is another update from CAF in the coming months on the U-17 AFCON, the same scenario under coach Nduka Ugbade.

The Eaglets remained the most successful team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup with five titles since winning the maiden edition in 1985.

The team has also won the tournament in 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015 in Chile. The coach of the team, Manu Garba who has won the title in the past as a gaffer won’t have the chance of winning another title.