# 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-17 football competition that decides the participating teams of the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Players born on 1 January 2008 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. The host country for the final stage of the edition is Ivory Coast, appointed during the General Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 22 October 2024.
For this competition, it was expanded to 16 teams, so third place teams from some regions also qualified. In February 2025, the teams advancing were announced.

## Teams

| Zone | Spots | Teams entering qualification | Did not enter |
| North Zone (UNAF) | 3 spots | Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia | |
| West A Zone (WAFU-UFOA A) | 3 spots | Gambia Guinea (W) Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Mauritania Senegal Sierra Leone | Cape Verde |
| West B Zone (WAFU-UFOA B) | 2 spots | Benin Burkina Faso Ghana Ivory Coast Niger Nigeria Togo | |
| Central Zone (UNIFFAC) | 2 spots | Cameroon Central African Republic Congo (W) DR Congo Gabon | Chad São Tomé and Príncipe Equatorial Guinea |
| Central-East Zone (CECAFA) | 3 spots | Burundi (W) Ethiopia (W) Kenya Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda | Djibouti Eritrea Rwanda |
| South Zone (COSAFA) | 3 spots | Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe | Madagascar Seychelles |

### Notes

* Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
* (W): Withdrew after draw

## North Zone

The UNAF qualifiers took place in Casablanca, Morocco, from 11 to 23 November 2024. The qualifying tournament draw was held on 1 October 2024. The five UNAF members competed in a single round-robin format with the top three teams qualifying for the final tournament.

### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Egypt | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 9 | 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Morocco (H) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 8 | 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3 | Tunisia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 7 | 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 4 | Algeria | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
| 5 | Libya | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 0 | |

## West A Zone

The WAFU-UFOA Zone A qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were hosted by Senegal with the matches played starting 22 October 2024. The matches were played at Dakar, Senegal.
All times are local, GMT (UTC+0).

### Group stage

The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals. Guinea withdrew after the draw.

#### Tiebreakers

Teams will be ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if two teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 13):
* Points in head-to-head matches match between the two tied teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.
If more than two teams were tied, the following criteria were applied instead:
* Points in matches between the tied teams;
* Goal difference in matches between the tied teams;
* Goals scored in matches between the tied teams;
* If after applying all criteria above, two teams were still tied, the above criteria were again applied to matches played between the two teams in question. If this did not resolve the tie, the next three criteria were applied;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Senegal (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Gambia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Liberia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 | |
| 4 | Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mali | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Guinea-Bissau | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Mauritania | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage
#### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 1 November – Thiès | 1 November – Thiès |
| Senegal (p) | 0 (4) |
| Senegal (p) | 0 (4) | 4 November – Thiès | 4 November – Thiès |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0 (3) | 4 November – Thiès | 4 November – Thiès |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0 (3) | Senegal (p) | 3 (5) |
| 1 November – Thiès | 1 November – Thiès | | Senegal (p) | 3 (5) |
| 1 November – Thiès | 1 November – Thiès | Mali | 3 (4) |
| Mali | 3 | Mali | 3 (4) |
| Gambia | 2 | | |
| Gambia | 2 | Third place play-off | Third place play-off |
| | | 4 November – Thiès | 4 November – Thiès |
| | | Guinea-Bissau | 0 (5) |
| | | Gambia (p) | 0 (6) |

#### Semi-finals

Winners qualified for 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

#### Final
## West B Zone

The WAFU-UFOA Zone B qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were hosted by Ghana with the matches played between 15 and 28 May 2024, the draw was announced on 23 April 2024.
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.

#### Tiebreakers

Teams will be ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if two teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 13):
* Points in head-to-head matches match between the two tied teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.
If more than two teams were tied, the following criteria were applied instead:
* Points in matches between the tied teams;
* Goal difference in matches between the tied teams;
* Goals scored in matches between the tied teams;
* If after applying all criteria above, two teams were still tied, the above criteria were again applied to matches played between the two teams in question. If this did not resolve the tie, the next three criteria were applied;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ghana (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Ivory Coast | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Benin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Nigeria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Niger | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Togo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 | |

### Knockout stage
#### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 25 May – Accra | 25 May – Accra |
| Ghana | 1 |
| Ghana | 1 | 28 May – Accra | 28 May – Accra |
| Burkina Faso | 2 | 28 May – Accra | 28 May – Accra |
| Burkina Faso | 2 | Burkina Faso | 3 |
| 25 May – Accra | 25 May – Accra | | Burkina Faso | 3 |
| 25 May – Accra | 25 May – Accra | Ivory Coast | 1 |
| Nigeria | 0 | Ivory Coast | 1 |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | | |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | Third place play-off | Third place play-off |
| | | 28 May – Accra | 28 May – Accra |
| | | Ghana | 2 |
| | | Nigeria | 3 |

#### Semi-finals

Winners qualified for 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

#### Final
## Central Zone

The UNIFFAC qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations are planned to be held in Cameroon between 16–22 February 2025. The qualifying tournament draw was held on 6 February 2025. Four UNIFFAC members competed in a single round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final tournament.
Congo was also placed into this group, but they were suspended on 6 February 2025 due to government interference in FECOFOOT operations. No announcement of their qualification status was immediately available, but on 16 February 2025, CAF released a reschedule of the qualifiers excluding Congo.

### Tiebreakers

Teams will be ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if two teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 13):
* Points in head-to-head matches match between the two tied teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.
If more than two teams were tied, the following criteria were applied instead:
* Points in matches between the tied teams;
* Goal difference in matches between the tied teams;
* Goals scored in matches between the tied teams;
* If after applying all criteria above, two teams were still tied, the above criteria were again applied to matches played between the two teams in question. If this did not resolve the tie, the next three criteria were applied;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.

### Results

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cameroon (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | +21 | 9 | 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2 | Central African Republic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 6 | 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3 | DR Congo | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Gabon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 | |

## Central-East Zone
### Tiebreakers

Teams will be ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if two teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 13):
* Points in head-to-head matches match between the two tied teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.
If more than two teams were tied, the following criteria were applied instead:
* Points in matches between the tied teams;
* Goal difference in matches between the tied teams;
* Goals scored in matches between the tied teams;
* If after applying all criteria above, two teams were still tied, the above criteria were again applied to matches played between the two teams in question. If this did not resolve the tie, the next three criteria were applied;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Drawing of lots.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Uganda (H) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Tanzania | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Kenya | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | |

#### Group B

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

### Knockout stage
#### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 24 December – Kampala | 24 December – Kampala |
| South Sudan | 0 |
| South Sudan | 0 | 27 December – Kampala | 27 December – Kampala |
| Tanzania | 4 | 27 December – Kampala | 27 December – Kampala |
| Tanzania | 4 | Tanzania | 1 |
| 24 December – Kampala | 24 December – Kampala | | Tanzania | 1 |
| 24 December – Kampala | 24 December – Kampala | Uganda | 2 |
| Uganda | 4 | Uganda | 2 |
| Somalia | 1 | | |
| Somalia | 1 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 27 December – Kampala | 27 December – Kampala |
| | | South Sudan | 2 (2) |
| | | Somalia | 2 (4) |

#### Final
## South Zone

The COSAFA qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 5 to 14 December 2024. The draw for the groups took place on 5 September 2024.
The qualification structure is as follows:
* Group stage: The 12 teams were divided into three groups, with the group winners and the best runner-up advancing to the knockout stage.
* Knockout stage: The four teams advancing from the second round competed in a three-match knockout round, with the winners of the semifinals qualifying for the final tournament.

### Group stage

Group A :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Angola | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Mozambique | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Lesotho | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Malawi | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 | |
Group B :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Zambia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | +13 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Namibia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 4 | |
| 4 | Eswatini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 | |
Group C :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Africa (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Botswana | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Comoros | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mauritius | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 11 December – Johannesburg | 11 December – Johannesburg |
| Angola | 2 |
| Angola | 2 | 13 December – Johannesburg | 13 December – Johannesburg |
| Zimbabwe | 0 | 13 December – Johannesburg | 13 December – Johannesburg |
| Zimbabwe | 0 | Angola | 1 |
| 11 December – Johannesburg | 11 December – Johannesburg | | Angola | 1 |
| 11 December – Johannesburg | 11 December – Johannesburg | Zambia | 2 |
| Zambia | 2 | Zambia | 2 |
| South Africa | 1 | | |

## Goalscorers

There have been 173 goals scored in 57 matches, for an average of 3.04 goals per match (as of 20 February 2025).
7 goals
* Abel Nyirongo
5 goals
* Asharaf Tapsoba
* Belal Atya
* Bakary Simpara
* El Shaddai Sadomba
4 goals
* Abdulmuiz Adeleke
* Anisse Saidi
3 goals
* Hamza Abdelkarim
* Mohamed Hamad
* Francis Gomez
* Harve Gbafa
* Joseph Narbi
* Rethabile Nqoko
* Ziyad Baha
* Gabriel Phiri
* Mapalo Simute
* Valentine Macheka
2 goals
* Youcef Boudouab
* Eliseu
* Abdelaziz El Zoghbi
* Kgosi Tshidi
* Alagie Baba Leigh
* Mark Kagawa Mensah
* Youbah Coulibaly
* Sanad Abdulwahab
* James Lumbe
* Soungalo Coulibaly
* Seydou Dembélé
* Ismail El Aoud
* Brayton Paulse
* Undefined
* Rapha Adams
* Mouhamed Dabo
* El Hadji Yamar Ndiaye
* Neo Bohloko
* Kamohelo Maraletse
* Omphemetse Sekgoto
* Selwyn Stevens
* Tadiwa Chakuchichi
1 goal
* Ahmed Achouri
* Charaf Eddine Cherfaoui
* Benaissa Fettouche
* Densel
* Jario
* Dias Luvumbo
* Omar
* Kutlo Mananye
* Abdoulaye Diaby
* Ibrouahima Fofana
* Chérif Sawadogo
* Kaylan Saïd
* Aviwe Dlamini
* Menzi Dlamini
* Bubacarr Susso
* Theophilus Ayamga
* Godfred Sarpong
* José Júnior
* Adama Diabate
* Mohammed Diarra
* Thuto Khetsi
* Alex Wile
* Almonder Al-Gamati
* Anas El Shawish
* Clifford Chisale
* Yusufu Nantunga
* Aboubacar Camara
* Ibrahim Diakité
* Mahamadou Traoré
* Julian Rabaye
* Aldo Ravina
* Ilies Belmokhtar
* Adam Jout
* Ahmed Mawhoub
* Abdellah Ouazane
* Bilal Sokrate
* Kille Lino
* Levonor Timbe
* Andriano Gawab
* Stephen Kamulu
* Ronald Kandjou
* Christiano Useb
* Undefined
* Imrana Muhammad
* Elhadji Cissé
* Youssou Mané
* Etienne Mendy
* El Hadji Sow
* Alie Kabia
* Simphiwe Mlondo
* Sive Pama
* Emile Witbooi
* Parkouda Bassirou
* Joël Tekle Eklou
* Aziz Chaabene
* Saifedine Haj Abdallah
* Amenallah Touati
* Robert Banda
* Nkotami Chimwemwe
* Jonathan Kalimina
* Nthasilwe Malupande
1 own goal
* Cassius Pewee (against Gambia)
* Milko Solunga (against Zambia)
* Jonathan Kalimina (against Angola)