The qualification phase of the 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations decided the participating teams of the final tournament. A total of eight teams will play in the final tournament, to be hosted by Zambia.
The draws were conducted during the CAF Executive Committee meeting held on Friday, 5 February 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda.[1][2]
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).[3]
The seven winners of the third round qualified for the final tournament.
First round[]
The first legs were played on 1, 2 and 3 April, and the second legs were played on 22, 23 and 24 April 2016.[2]
^Kenya were disqualified after fielding five over-age players (Erick Ouma Otieno, Nicholas Kipkirui, Boniface Muchiri, Eugene Moses Mukangula and Theodore Kibet Kilele) in the first leg against Sudan.[4]
^Uganda were disqualified after fielding a player (James Aheebwa) whose date of birth on his passport was different to the date of birth on his CAF Inter-Clubs license, an occurrence prohibited within CAF regulations.[5]
^Somalia played their home leg in Djibouti due to the Somali Civil War.
Second round[]
The first legs were played on 20, 21 and 22 May, and the second legs were played on 10, 11, 12 and 13 June 2016.[2]