2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification
| 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) |  (6 goals) |
The 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-17 football competition which decided the teams that would have participated in the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.
Players born 1 January 2004 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of twelve teams qualified and would have played 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 Zone (UNIFFAC) |
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 | 
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 0 |
39West 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 finalLy took place in Senegal, from 5 to 13 february 2021[11][12]
Group stage[]
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 |  (Q)
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Gambia (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[a] |
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]
| | 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 |  (Q)
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Sierra Leone (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[a] |
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]
| | 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 | 4 | |||||
| 13 February – Stade Lat-Dior | ||||||
| | 0 | |||||
| Senegal | 2 | |||||
| 11 February –Stade Lat-Dior | ||||||
| Mali | 0 | |||||
| Mali | 5 | |||||
| | 1 | |||||
Semifinals[]
| Senegal | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Mali | 5–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Final[]
| Senegal | 2–0 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
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[a] |
- ^ 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]
| Benin | 1–5 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
|
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 |
| 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 which would have served as a qualifier tournament for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations was initially planned to be held in Cameroon on 2020, and then in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in February 2021.
In February 2021, this tournament was finally cancelled by CAF due to the absence of a host country and the absence of an MRI machine in most of the countries of this zone. For the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, CAF decided to qualify Cameroon and Congo, the two finalists of the last edition of the zonal qualifiers of UNIFFAC in 2018.[15]
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.[16] 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.[17] The matches were played at Gisenyi (Umuganda Stadium).[18]
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 |  (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified[a] |
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 | 
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Rwanda (H)
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
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 | ||||||
| | 0 | |||||
| Uganda | 3 | |||||
| 20 December – Umuganda Stadium | ||||||
| Tanzania | 1 | |||||
| Tanzania | 1 (4) | |||||
| Ethiopia | 1 (3) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 22 December – Umuganda Stadium | ||||||
| | 2 | |||||
| Ethiopia | 5 | |||||
Semifinals[]
Third Place match[]
Final[]
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.[19] Malawi, however, were not able to host the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] The hosting rights were later awarded to South Africa with the matches being played at Nelson Mandela Bay (Gelvandale Stadium and Westbourne Oval Stadium).[21]
All times are local, SAST (UTC+2).[22]
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.[23] 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.[24] 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 |
| 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 |
Third place match[]
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) |
| Senegal |
West A Zone | 11 February 2021 | 2 Group stage (2011, 2019) |
| Mali |
West A Zone | 11 February 2021 | 8 Champions (2015, (2017) |
| 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) |
 Cameroon |
Central Zone | 20 February 2021 | 7 (1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019) |
 Congo |
Central Zone | 20 February 2021 | 2 (2011, 2013) |
| 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 106 goals scored in 33 matches, for an average of 3.21 goals per match.
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
(against Libya)
(against Tanzania)
(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]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d 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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Tournoi UFOA U17 : La Sierra Leone et la Gambie disqualifiées". 13football. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "WAFU-B U-17 tournament: Togo disqualified". CAF. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Sang, Kiplagat (13 December 2020). "Banned South Sudan did not know players were over age". Goal.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
- ^ "Cameroon and Congo qualify without playing". 20 February 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.
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