2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification
The 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification is a men's under-17 football competition which decide the participating teams of the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Algeria (North Zone) Sierra Leone (West A Zone) Benin (West B Zone) Cameroon (Central Zone) Rwanda (Central-East Zone) South Africa (South Zone) |
| Dates | 22 November – |
| Teams | Maximum 54 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 101 (3.37 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Oscar Mawa (6 goals) |
Players born 1 January 2004 or later are eligible to participate in the competition. A total of twelve teams qualify to play in the final tournament, including Morocco who qualified automatically as hosts.[1]
Teams
This will be the first edition in Africa U-17 Cup of Nations to have expanded to 12 teams instead of eight. Each of the six zones received two spots in the final tournament.[2]
| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Zone (UNAF) |
1 spot + hosts |
||
| West A Zone (WAFU-UFOA A) |
2 spots |
| |
| West B Zone (WAFU-UFOA B) |
2 spots | ||
| Central-East Zone (CECAFA) |
2 spots |
| |
| South Zone (COSAFA) |
2 spots |
|
- Notes
- Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
- (H): Qualifying tournament hosts
- (Q): Automatically qualified for final tournament regardless of qualification results
- (D): Disqualified
Schedule
The qualifying competition is split into regional competitions, with the teams entering the qualifying tournament of their zone. [7] The final arrangements of the zonal qualifiers were decided later due to the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] The schedule of each qualifying zone is as follows.
| Zone | Group stage | Knockout stage |
|---|---|---|
| South Zone | 22–26 November 2020 | 29 November 2020 |
| Originally set to be played between 22 July–1 August 2020 in Malawi | ||
| Central-East Zone | 13–18 December 2020 | 20–22 December 2020 |
| Originally set to be played at the beginning of July | ||
| West B Zone | 8–12 January 2021 | 15–18 January 2021 |
| Originally set to be played between 15–30 June 2020 in Benin | ||
| North Zone | 18–24 January 2021 | — |
| Originally set to be played between 15–24 July 2020 | ||
| Central Zone | 14–19 July 2020 (postponed, originally in Cameroon) | 21–23 July 2020 (postponed, originally in Cameroon) |
| West A Zone | 8–15 August 2020 (postponed, originally in Sierra Leone) | 19–22 August 2020 (postponed, originally in Sierra Leone) |
North Zone
The UNAF U-17 Tournament, which also served as the qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations was initially planned to be hosted by Algeria between 15–24 July 2020. However, it could not be held in the scheduled time span because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was later scheduled and held between 18–24 January 2021.[9] The matches were played at Algiers (Stade du 5 Juillet).
The draw for the fixtures was held on 30 December 2020.[10] The three teams were placed in one group, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament. Morocco didn't participate in the qualifiers as they had already qualified as the hosts of the final tournament.
All times are local, CET (UTC+1).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Algeria (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 2 |  Tunisia |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Libya |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(H) Host.
West A Zone
The 2021 WAFU Zone A Tournament who serve as the qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations was initially planned to be hosted from 11 to 20 december 2020 in Sierra Leone, but was postponed. It finaly took place in Senegal, from 5 to 13 february 2021[11][12]
Groupe A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Senegal (H, Q) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Mauritania (Q) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Gambia (D) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[lower-alpha 1] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(D) Disqualified; (H) Host; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:
- Gambia were disqualified from the qualifiers after some players failed to pass the MRI test. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.[3]
| Mauritania | Voided (0–2) | Gambia |
|---|---|---|
Groupe B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mali (Q) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Guinea-Bissau (Q) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Sierra Leone (D) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[lower-alpha 1] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(D) Disqualified; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:
- Sierra Leone were disqualified from the qualifiers after some players failed to pass the MRI test. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.[3]
| Guinea-Bissau | Voided (1–0) | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Mali | Voided (5–0) | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, a penalty shoot-out without extra time was used to determine the winners.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 11 February– Stade Lat-Dior | ||||||
| Senegal | ||||||
| 13 February – Stade Lat-Dior | ||||||
| Guinea-Bissau | ||||||
| 11 February –Stade Lat-Dior | ||||||
| Mali | ||||||
| Mauritania | ||||||
| Third place | ||||||
West B Zone
The 2021 WAFU Zone B Tournament who serve as a qualifier tournament for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were initially planned to be hosted by Benin from 15–30 June 2020, but were later shifted and held in Togo between 5–18 January 2021. The matches were played at Lomé (Stade de Kégué and Stade Municipal).[13][14]
All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).
Group stage
The seven teams were drawn into two groups of three and four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Burkina Faso |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Niger |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Benin |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Togo (H, D) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[lower-alpha 1] |
- Togo were disqualified from the qualifiers after two of their players failed to pass the MRI test. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.[4]
| Togo | Voided (2–1) | Niger |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Benin | 1–5 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Benin | Voided (1–3) | Togo |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Niger | 0–0 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Burkina Faso | Cancelled | Togo |
|---|---|---|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ivory Coast |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Nigeria |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Ghana |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 |
Rules for classification: Group tiebreakers
| Nigeria | 0–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 3–1 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, a penalty shoot-out without extra time was used to determine the winners.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 15 January – Stade de Kégué | ||||||
| Burkina Faso | 0 | |||||
| 18 January – Stade de Kégué | ||||||
| Nigeria | 1 | |||||
| Nigeria | 2 | |||||
| 15 January – Stade de Kégué | ||||||
| Ivory Coast | 3 | |||||
| Ivory Coast | 1 | |||||
| Niger | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 18 January – Stade de Kégué | ||||||
| Burkina Faso | 1(10) | |||||
| Niger | 1 (9) | |||||
Semifinals
| Burkina Faso | 0–1 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 1–0 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Third Place match
| Burkina Faso | 1–1 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
10–9 |
|
Final
| Nigeria | 2–3 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Central Zone
The 2021 UNIFFAC U17 Tournament who serve as a qualifier tournament for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations initially planned to be held in Cameroon on 2020, but will finally be held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in February 2021.
|
|
|
Central-East Zone
The CECAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were initially planned to be hosted at the beginning of July 2020 but were then later shifted to 13–22 December 2020. Nine teams were drawn into three groups of three teams during the draw made in October.[15] However, two teams, namely Eritrea and Sudan withdrew before the start of the tournament and the seven remaining teams were then redrawn into new groups.[16] The matches were played at Gisenyi (Umuganda Stadium).[17]
All times are local, CAT (UTC+2).
Group stage
The seven teams were drawn into two groups of three and four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uganda |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Ethiopia |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Kenya |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 | |
| 4 |  South Sudan (D) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[lower-alpha 1] |
- South Sudan were disqualified from the qualifiers after four of their players failed to pass the MRI test.[5]
| Kenya | 2–2 | Ethiopia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tanzania |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  Djibouti |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Rwanda (H) |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
| Rwanda | 1–3 | Tanzania |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, a penalty shoot-out without extra time was used to determine the winners.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 20 December – Umuganda Stadium | ||||||
| Uganda | 1 | |||||
| 22 December – Umuganda Stadium | ||||||
| Djibouti | 0 | |||||
| Uganda | 3 | |||||
| 20 December – Umuganda Stadium | ||||||
| Tanzania | 1 | |||||
| Tanzania | 1 (4) | |||||
| Ethiopia | 1 (3) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 22 December – Umuganda Stadium | ||||||
| Djibouti | 2 | |||||
| Ethiopia | 5 | |||||
South Zone
The COSAFA U-17 Championship was initially planned to be hosted by Malawi between 22 July–1 August 2020 with the matches planned to be played at Blantyre, as the region's qualifying tournament.[18] Malawi, however, were not able to host the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] The hosting rights were later awarded to South Africa with the matches being played at Nelson Mandela Bay (Gelvandale Stadium and Westbourne Oval Stadium).[20]
All times are local, SAST (UTC+2).[21]
Group stage
Eight teams were drawn into two groups during the draw. South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini were drawn into Group A and Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and Comoros were drawn into Group B.[22] However, on 20 November after the first set of matches were already played on 19 November, 4 teams namely – Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini and Zimbabwe were disqualified from the tournament for having at least one of their players fail the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test.[23] The tournament was later restarted on 22 November 2020 as a four-team tournament and was played on a round-robin basis. The matches which had been played were then later regarded as warm-up games with no bearing to the new tournament format.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Zambia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 2 |  South Africa (H) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Angola |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Malawi |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 1 |
| Angola | 1–2 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| South Africa | 2–2 | Malawi |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| South Africa | 2–1 | Angola |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Zambia | 6–2 | Malawi |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Malawi | 1–7 | Angola |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Zambia | 1–0 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Final
| Zambia | 1–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
2–4 |
|
Qualified teams
The following 12 teams qualify for the final tournament.
| Team | Zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in Africa U-17 Cup of Nations1 only final tournament era (since 1995) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Morocco (hosts) | North Zone | 28 September 2018[1] | 2 (2013, 2019) |
| Algeria | North Zone | 24 January 2021 | 1 (2009) |
| TBD | West A Zone | ||
| TBD | West A Zone | ||
| Nigeria | West B Zone | 15 January 2021 | 9 (1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019) |
| Ivory Coast | West B Zone | 15 January 2021 | 5 (1997, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| TBD | Central Zone | ||
| TBD | Central Zone | ||
| Uganda | Central-East Zone | 20 December 2020 | 1 (2019) |
| Tanzania | Central-East Zone | 20 December 2020 | 2 (2017, 2019) |
| Zambia | South Zone | 24 November 2020 | 1 (2015) |
| South Africa | South Zone | 26 November 2020 | 3 (2005, 2007, 2015) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
There were 104 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 3.35 goals per match.
6 goals
- Oscar Mawa
5 goals
- Joseph Banda
4 goals
- Custódio Hequele
3 goals
- Abdramane Konaté
2 goals
- Jeremias Kossi
- Yamirou Ouorou
- Abdoul Ouattara
- Gaoussou Diakité
- Ayoub Hadi
- Yodahe Bakalo
- Bereket Jiru
- Bereket Rameto
- Seydou Traoré
- Chifundo Mphasi
- Samson Zakeyu
- Souleymane Daouda
- Abdoulaye Ousmane
- Ahmed Abdullahi
- Thabang Mahlangu
- Mduduzi Shabalala
- Omar Mvungi
- Ivan Irinimbabazi
- Travis Mutyaba
- Charles Majapa
- Rickson Ng’ambi
1 goal
- Djibril Nottebaere
- Mohamed Rafik Omar
- Anis Ouchouache
- Edhy Yvan Zuliani
- Armindo Canji
- Alexandre Cucao
- Vicente Domingos
- Osvaldo Inga
- António Lopes
- Zakaria Tinta
- Bachirou Yaméogo
- Moktar Djama Ali
- Mikiyas Ganta
- Miraj Nagash
- John Batigi
- Abdul Fatawu Issahaku
- Cédric Don
- Sindou Koné
- Charles Likpa
- James Gachago
- Umar Rajab
- Abdulsamia Abdulnabi
- Abdulmuyassir Boushibah
- Stevie Banda
- Andrew Lameck
- Harouna Hassane
- Joseph Arumala
- Michael Emmanuel
- Eric Irihamye
- Keaviano Francis
- Omari Bakari
- Kassimu Yahaya
- Mawussi Adohoun
- Kokou Dotsè
- Baboulin Kolani
- Ouzeroudine Kpérédja
- Robert Sedzro
- Firas Mahdouani
- Youssef Senana
- Mohamed Nasser Trabelsi
- Ibrahim Juma
- Ronald Madoi
- Teddy Khumalo
1 own goal
- Djibril Nottebaere (against Libya)
- Abdek Mouhoumed (against Tanzania)
- Vincent Mulema (against Tanzania)
Notes
- Gambia & Sierra Leone were disqualified from the qualifiers after some of their players failed to pass the MRI test.[3]
- Togo were disqualified from the qualifiers after two of their players failed to pass the MRI test.[4]
- South Sudan were disqualified from the qualifiers after four of their players failed to pass the MRI test.[5]
- Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini and Zimbabwe initially entered in the qualifiers, but were later disqualified after at least 1 of their players failed the MRI test. The tournament was then later restarted with the remaining 4 teams and the games previously played were regarded as warm-ups.[6]
References
- "Decisions of CAF Executive Commitee [sic] - 27 & 28 September 2018". CAF. 29 September 2018.
- "CAF Holds Executive Committee Meeting ahead of CAN Total U-23 Final". CAFOnline.com. CAF-Confedération Africaine du Football. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- "Tournoi UFOA U17 : La Sierra Leone et la Gambie disqualifiées". 13football. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- "WAFU-B U-17 tournament: Togo disqualified". CAF. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- Sang, Kiplagat (13 December 2020). "Banned South Sudan did not know players were over age". Goal.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- "Four teams disqualified from COSAFA zonal qualifier". 20 November 2020.
- "CAF Newsletter" (PDF). CAF. 5 April 2020. p. 3.
- "Decisions of CAF Executive Meeting – 30 June 2020". CAF. 30 June 2020.
- "CAN-2021 (U17) : L'Algérie organisera le tournoi qualificatif l'été prochain" (in French). footalgerien.com. 24 November 2019.
- "UNAF U17 : le tirage au sort effectué" (in French). CAF. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- "WAFU 'A' U-17 qualifiers postponed". cafonline.com. 14 December 2020.
- "WAFU 'A' U-17 qualifiers". fr.cafonline.com. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- Eludini, Tunde (3 January 2021). "Golden Eaglets depart Lagos for Togo". Premium Times. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- Lantheaume, Romain (5 January 2021). "Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria… Coup d'envoi des qualifications en Zone UFOA B". Afrik-Foot. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "CECAFA U-20 and U-17 AFCON qualifiers draw done". CAF. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- Furaha, Jacques (8 December 2020). "Seven Teams To Compete After Burundi, Sudan And Eritrea Withdrawals". KT Press. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- Sikubwabo, Damas (7 December 2020). "Rwanda drawn in Group B with Tanzania, Djibouti". The New Times. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- "Malawi to host 2020 COSAFA U-17 championship". Malawi24. 25 January 2020.
- Chilapondwa, Andrew (7 August 2020). "Mauritius to host COSAFA Under-17 Championship". Malawi24.
- "Draw looms for COSAFA Men's Under-17 and Under-20 zonal qualifiers". 28 October 2020.
- "2020 COSAFA UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES". COSAFA.
- "Tasty draws for COSAFA Men's Under-17 and Under-20 Championships". COSAFA. 2 November 2020.
- "South Africa start with win, Zimbabwe and Angola draw". 19 November 2020.