Nigeria’s hopes of competing in the 2025 CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco have been dashed, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announcing that the Golden Eaglets did not qualify.
The team showed promise during last year’s WAFU B U17 Championship, where they secured third place with a notable 3-2 victory over Ghana. However, this impressive performance could not translate into a successful qualifying campaign. Only the top two teams from the regional qualifiers were granted automatic spots in the tournament, leaving Nigeria on the outside looking in.
There had been some speculation that Nigeria might still find a way to compete if CAF decided to expand the U17 AFCON to 16 teams, especially after FIFA increased the slots for African teams at the U17 World Cup. While CAF did indeed widen the tournament’s scope, those hopes were ultimately misplaced.
The additional slots were allocated to teams from other regions, including Gambia, who finished third in the WAFU-A zone, and Tunisia, as the host for the UNAF region, alongside representatives from CECAFA and COSAFA.
As a result, despite their strong showing in regional competitions, the Golden Eaglets will not compete in the expanded tournament.
This is a significant setback for Nigeria’s youth football program, as the nation will miss a vital opportunity to build on its legacy in the U17 FIFA World Cup, where they have an impressive record of ten appearances and five championships.
Having already missed the 2023 U17 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia by finishing outside the top four at the U17 AFCON in Algeria, and now facing another absence for the 2025 U17 World Cup in Qatar due to not qualifying for AFCON, Nigeria must confront the harsh reality of consecutive World Cup exits.
