The Confederation of African Football has officially unveiled the 16 nations that will take part in the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Algeria claimed the final qualification spot after edging Egypt 1-0 at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium.
The competition will be staged from April 25 to May 15, 2026, and will also serve as Africa’s qualifying event for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
A total of 10 teams from the tournament will qualify for the expanded 48-team global event set for November 2026.
The countries that have secured qualification are:
Algeria
Angola
Cameroon
Côte d’Ivoire
DR Congo
Egypt
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Morocco
Mozambique
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Notably, Nigeria will miss the tournament for the second straight edition.
The Golden Eaglets failed to progress after suffering a 2-0 defeat to rivals Ghana in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B qualifiers in September 2025.
Qualification for the tournament is determined through CAF’s zonal system, with six regional unions staging separate qualifying competitions to decide the teams that advance to the finals.
