2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes or 2026 U17 AFCON for short, is the 16th edition (21st if editions without hosts are included) of the annual African youth football tournament organized by Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 17 and below.

Source: Wikipedia

Article

2026 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

Morocco was chosen as the host of this edition on 16 December 2024 at the annual CAF Executive Committee meeting along the 2024 CAF Awards ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco where CAF appointed the country as host. The top 10 teams qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the CAF representatives.

Morocco are the defending champions.

Qualification

Player eligibility

Players born on 1 January 2009 or later were eligible to participate in this tournament edition.

Qualified teams

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>Zone</th><th>Date of qualification</th><th>Appearance</th><th>Last appearance</th><th>Previous best performance</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td> Morocco (hosts)</td><td>North Zone</td><td>16 December 2024</td><td>5th</td><td>2025</td><td>Champions (2025)</td></tr><tr><td> Senegal</td><td>West A Zone</td><td>15 October 2025</td><td>5th</td><td>2025</td><td>Champions (2023)</td></tr><tr><td> Mali</td><td>15 October 2025</td><td>11th</td><td>2025</td><td>Champions (2015, 2017)</td></tr><tr><td> Guinea-Bissau</td><td>18 October 2025</td><td>1st</td><td>None</td><td>Debut</td></tr><tr><td> Ivory Coast</td><td>West B Zone</td><td>30 September 2025</td><td>7th</td><td>2025</td><td>Champions (2013)</td></tr><tr><td> Ghana</td><td>30 September 2025</td><td>8th</td><td>2017</td><td>Champions (1995, 1999)</td></tr><tr><td> Cameroon</td><td>Central Zone</td><td>24 February 2026</td><td>10th</td><td>2025</td><td>Champions (2003, 2019)</td></tr><tr><td> DR Congo</td><td>24 February 2026</td><td>1st</td><td>None</td><td>Debut</td></tr><tr><td> Tanzania</td><td>Central-East Zone</td><td>30 November 2025</td><td>4th</td><td>2025</td><td>Group stage (2017, 2019, 2025)</td></tr><tr><td> Uganda</td><td>30 November 2025</td><td>3rd</td><td>2025</td><td>Group stage (2019, 2025)</td></tr><tr><td> Ethiopia</td><td>2 December 2025</td><td>4th</td><td>2003</td><td>Fourth place (1997)</td></tr><tr><td> South Africa</td><td>South Zone</td><td>18 September 2025</td><td>6th</td><td>2025</td><td>Runners-up (2015)</td></tr><tr><td> Angola</td><td>18 September 2025</td><td>6th</td><td>2025</td><td>Third place (2019)</td></tr><tr><td> Mozambique</td><td>20 September 2025</td><td>3rd</td><td>2001</td><td>Group stage (1995, 2001)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Teams were 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 tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

• Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, if two teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are applied exclusively to these two teams; • Goal difference in all group matches; • Goals scored in all group matches; • Drawing of lots.

Group A

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> Morocco (H)</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Knockout stage and 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>A2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>A3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>A4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Group B

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>B1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Knockout stage and 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>B2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>B3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>B4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Group C

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>C1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Knockout stage and 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>C2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>C3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>C4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Group D

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>D1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Knockout stage and 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>D2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>D3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>FIFA U-17 World Cup play-off</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>D4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>