The Confederation of African Football has confirmed the 16 countries that will compete in the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, with Algeria securing the final spot after defeating Egypt 1-0 at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium.
The tournament, to be hosted by Morocco, will run from April 25 to May 15, 2026, and will 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 (hosts)
– Mozambique
– Senegal
– South Africa
– Tanzania
– Uganda
Notably, 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.
Qualification for the U-17 AFCON works through a zonal system organised by CAF’s six recognised regional unions. Each zone runs its own mini-tournament to determine the qualifiers. Nigeria’s loss in the WAFU Zone B qualifiers semi-final dashed their hopes of advancing to the finals.
