2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification
# 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification

The 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-17 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

Players born 1 January 2006 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of twelve teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Algeria who qualified automatically as hosts.

## Teams

Since the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations was cancelled, 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.

| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
| - | - | - | - |
| North Zone (UNAF) | 1 spot + hosts | Egypt  Libya  Morocco  Tunisia | Algeria (Q, H) |
| West A Zone (WAFU-UFOA A) | 2 spots | Cape Verde  Liberia (D)  Mali  Mauritania (H)  Senegal  Sierra Leone | Gambia  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau |
| West B Zone (WAFU-UFOA B) | 2 spots | Benin  Burkina Faso  Ghana (H)  Ivory Coast  Niger  Nigeria  Togo | |
| Central Zone (UNIFFAC) | 2 spots | Cameroon (H)  Central African Republic  Chad (D)  Congo  DR Congo (D) | Equatorial Guinea  Gabon  São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Central-East Zone (CECAFA) | 2 spots | Burundi  Djibouti (D)  Eritrea (W)  Ethiopia (H)  Rwanda (W)  Somalia  South Sudan  Sudan (D)  Tanzania  Uganda | Kenya |
| South Zone (COSAFA) | 2 spots | Angola (D)  Botswana  Malawi (H)  Mauritius (W)  Mozambique  Namibia  Seychelles  South Africa  Zambia | Comoros  Eswatini  Lesotho  Madagascar  Zimbabwe |

### Notes

* Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
* (H): Qualifying tournament hosts
* (Q): Automatically qualified for final tournament regardless of qualification results
* (W): Withdrew
* (D): Disqualified

## Schedule

The qualifying competition was split into regional competitions, with the teams entering the qualifying tournament of their zone. The schedule of each qualifying zone was as follows.

| Zone | Group stage | Knockout stage |
| - | - | - |
| West B Zone | 11–18 June 2022 | 21–24 June 2022 |
| West A Zone | 1–5 October 2022 | 7–9 October 2022 |
| Central-East Zone | 3–9 October 2022 | 12–15 October 2022 |
| North Zone | 8–14 November 2022 | — |
| South Zone | 2–7 December 2022 | 9–11 December 2022 |
| Central Zone | 12–18 January 2023 | — |

## North Zone

The 2022 UNAF U-17 Tournament, which also served as the qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, took place between 8 to 14 November 2022 in Algiers, Algeria. The four teams were placed in one group, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament. Algeria didn't participate in the tournament, as were automatically qualified for the final tournament as hosts.

All times are local, DPRA (UTC+1).

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Morocco | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 | 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Egypt | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Libya | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Tunisia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |

## West A Zone

The WAFU-UFOA Zone A qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were hosted by Mauritania with the matches played between 1 and 9 October 2022. The draw was announced on 21 July 2022.

All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).

### Group stage

The six teams were drawn into two groups of three 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 | Sierra Leone | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Mauritania (H) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Liberia (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified |

* ↑ On 3 October, Liberia were disqualified from the qualifiers after two of their players failed to pass the MRI test. After this, both of their matches were cancelled and the group standings was decided only by the first match played on 1 October between Mauritania and Sierra Leone.

**Group B**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mali | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Senegal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Cape Verde | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya |
| Sierra Leone | 0 (5) |
| Sierra Leone | 0 (5) | 9 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | 9 October – Cheikha Boïdiya |
| Senegal (p) | 0 (6) | 9 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | 9 October – Cheikha Boïdiya |
| Senegal (p) | 0 (6) | Senegal | 1 (2) |
| 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | | Senegal | 1 (2) |
| 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | 7 October – Cheikha Boïdiya | Mali (p) | 1 (4) |
| Mali | 2 | Mali (p) | 1 (4) |
| Mauritania | 0 | | |

**Semi-finals**

Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

## West B Zone

The WAFU-UFOA Zone B qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were hosted by Ghana with the matches played between 11 and 24 June 2022. The draw was announced on 15 April 2022.

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 | Nigeria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Ghana (H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Togo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 | |

**Group B**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Benin | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Niger | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 3 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium |
| Nigeria | 3 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium | 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium | 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | Nigeria | 2 |
| 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | | Nigeria | 2 |
| 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | 21 June – Cape Coast Stadium | Burkina Faso | 1 |
| Burkina Faso | 1 | Burkina Faso | 1 |
| Ghana | 0 | | |
| Ghana | 0 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium | 24 June – Cape Coast Stadium |
| | | Ivory Coast | 2 |
| | | Ghana | 3 |

**Semi-finals**

Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

## Central Zone

The UNIFFAC qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were planned to be held in Cameroon between 7–12 January 2023 but was postponed and eventually played between 12–18 January 2023 due to a number of players being deemed overage by the MRI tests for Chad, DR Congo and Cameroon.

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Cameroon (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 6 | 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Congo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations |
| 3 | Central African Republic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0 | |

## Central-East Zone

The CECAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were hosted by Ethiopia, with the matches played between 2 and 19 October 2022. The draw was announced on 15 September 2022.

All times are local, EAT (UTC+3).

### Group stage

The ten teams were initially drawn into two groups of five teams. Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea were drawn into Group A and Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda were drawn into Group B. However, on 26 September, Eritrea and Rwanda withdrew from the competition, leaving both the groups with four teams. On 1 October, Djibouti and Sudan were disqualified from the tournament after some of their players failed the MRI test, leaving Group B with only two teams.

A redraw was then conducted on 2 October, with three teams drawn in two groups. 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 | Tanzania | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Somalia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Ethiopia (H) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | |

**Group B**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Uganda | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | South Sudan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Burundi | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium |
| Uganda | 1 (7) |
| Uganda | 1 (7) | 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium |
| Somalia (p) | 1 (8) | 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium |
| Somalia (p) | 1 (8) | Somalia | 3 |
| 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | | Somalia | 3 |
| 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | 12 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | South Sudan | 1 |
| Tanzania | 1 (3) | South Sudan | 1 |
| South Sudan (p) | 1 (4) | | |
| South Sudan (p) | 1 (4) | Third place | Third place |
| | | 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium | 15 October – Abebe Bikila Stadium |
| | | Uganda | 1 (1) |
| | | Tanzania (p) | 1 (4) |

**Semi-finals**

Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

## South Zone

The COSAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations were played between 2 and 11 December 2022 in Malawi. The draw was announced on 4 November 2022.

All times are local, CAT (UTC+2).

### Group stage

The nine teams were initially drawn into three groups of three teams. Malawi, Botswana and Namibia were drawn into Group A; Angola, South Africa and Mauritius were drawn into Group B; and Zambia, Mozambique and Seychelles were drawn into Group C.

However, a few days later, Mauritius withdrew from the competition, leaving Group B with only two teams. A redraw was then conducted on 29 November, with eight teams drawn into two groups of 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 | Malawi (H) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Botswana | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Namibia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | |
| 4 | Angola (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified |

* ↑ On 1 December, Angola were disqualified from the qualifiers after a few of their players failed to pass the MRI test.

**Group B**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Zambia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Mozambique | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | |
| 4 | Seychelles | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 | −17 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 9 December – Bingu National | 9 December – Bingu National |
| Zambia | 4 |
| Zambia | 4 | 11 December – Bingu National | 11 December – Bingu National |
| Botswana | 2 | 11 December – Bingu National | 11 December – Bingu National |
| Botswana | 2 | Zambia | 1 |
| 9 December – Bingu National | 9 December – Bingu National | | Zambia | 1 |
| 9 December – Bingu National | 9 December – Bingu National | South Africa | 0 |
| Malawi | 1 | South Africa | 0 |
| South Africa | 5 | | |
| South Africa | 5 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 11 December – Bingu National | 11 December – Bingu National |
| | | Botswana | 2 |
| | | Malawi | 5 |

**Semi-finals**

Winners qualified for 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

## Qualified teams

The following 12 teams qualified for the final tournament.

| Team | Zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in Africa U-17 Cup of Nations only final tournament era (since 1995) |
| - | - | - | - |
| Algeria (hosts) | North Zone | 17 May 2021 | 1 (2009) |
| Nigeria | West B Zone | 21 June 2022 | 9 (1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019) |
| Burkina Faso | West B Zone | 21 June 2022 | 6 (1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011) |
| Senegal | West A Zone | 7 October 2022 | 2 (2011, 2019) |
| Mali | West A Zone | 7 October 2022 | 8 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2017) |
| Somalia | Central-East Zone | 12 October 2022 | 0 (debut) |
| South Sudan | Central-East Zone | 12 October 2022 | 0 (debut) |
| Morocco | North Zone | 14 November 2022 | 2 (2013, 2019) |
| Zambia | South Zone | 9 December 2022 | 1 (2015) |
| South Africa | South Zone | 9 December 2022 | 3 (2005, 2007, 2015) |
| Cameroon | Central Zone | 15 January 2023 | 7 (1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Congo | Central Zone | 18 January 2023 | 2 (2011, 2013) |

    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

## Goalscorers

There were 185 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 3.56 goals per match.

9 goals

* Siyabonga Mabena

5 goals

* Ousmane Camara
* Yan Diomandé
* Ibrahim Diarra
* Emmanuel Mwanza

4 goals

* Losika Ratshukudu
* Webster Mzunda
* Sylvester Otto

3 goals

* Dorinel Yondjo
* Abdul-Razak Salifu
* Abubakar Abdullahi
* Emmanuel Michael
* Amara Diouf
* Abdihafid Abdi
* Benjamin Wallis
* Arafat Nkoola
* Lutetekelo Kapowa
* Marcel Zimba

2 goals

* Abdou-Faridou Arouna
* Yamirou Ouorou
* Apollinaire Bougma
* Abdramane Ouédraogo
* Bienvenu Bizenga
* Ayman Abdel-Aziz
* Biruk Seyoum
* Collins Agyemang
* Abdoulaye Doumbia
* Nambagui Soro
* Vincent Harrison
* Lucky Mkandawire
* Aboubacar Diarra
* Ange Tia
* Abdelhamid Maali
* Yanis Issoufou
* Light Eke
* Daniel Sesay
* Mactar Sylla
* Wissam Chaouali
* Abdirahin Dahir
* Dhakier Lee
* Nacim Dendani
* Alex Yiga
* Kelvin Phiri

1 goal

* Taofik Seidou
* Boniface Manapolo
* Boikobo Matakula
* Sie Ouattara
* Ramadhan Harimbabazi
* Tizé Abib
* Collins Akamba
* Harouna Djibrin
* Ayel Nzouzi
* Hossam Abdelkarim
* Omar Moawad
* Omar Mohamed
* Abdul Rashid Adam
* Pius Adua
* Richard Apokum
* Aboubacar Méïté
* Inza Gballou
* Emmanuel N'Goran
* Sanad Kerwash
* Abdel Moamen Al Mabrouk
* Ahmed Al Mesmari
* Marwan Al Zakouzi
* Blessings Kanowa
* Mwisho Mhango
* Mahamoud Barry
* Ibrahim Kanaté
* Modibo Sissoko
* Adam Ashtar
* Ismail Bakhti
* Aiman Nair
* Dorian Nanuseb
* Mohamed Yacouba
* Ibrahim Djingarey
* Jubril Azeez
* Kevwe Iyede
* Lamine Sadio
* Omar Sall
* Issa Touré
* Lorenzo Hoareau
* Abu Bakarr Bangura
* Idris Bilal
* Xhosa Manyana
* Bennet Mokoena
* Thato Sibiya
* Jonathan Gem
* David Mabil
* Ajo Minari
* Abraham Okenny
* Yasin Charles
* Idrisa Iddi
* Ally Omar
* Komi Ahouankpo
* Anas Amdouni
* Moncef Al Gharbi
* Farouk Lubega
* Richard Okello
* Patrick Sembuusi
* Jamal Ssemwogerere
* Abubakali Walusimbi
* Samson Malaya

1 own goal

* Abdalath Baboni (against Ivory Coast)
* Julius Banda (against Botswana)
* Baye Coulibaly (against Cape Verde)
