16 teams confirmed for 2026 U-17 AFCON (full list)

By Tolulope Oke

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the 16 countries qualified for the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will be hosted by Morocco from April 25 to May 15, 2026.

The final team to qualify, Algeria, sealed its place with a 1-0 win over Egypt at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium.

The tournament also serves as the primary qualifier for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, which expands to 48 teams and is scheduled for November 2026. The top 10 teams from the AFCON finals will secure spots at the global championship.

The qualified teams are:

Algeria
Angola
Cameroon
Côte d’Ivoire
DR Congo
Egypt
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Morocco (hosts)
Mozambique
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda

Notably, Nigeria will miss the tournament for the second consecutive edition. The Golden Eaglets were eliminated after a 2-0 defeat to rivals Ghana in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B qualifiers in September 2025.

CAF’s U-17 qualification system runs through six regional zones: North (UNAF), West A (WAFU A), West B (WAFU B), Central (UNIFFAC), Central-East (CECAFA), and South (COSAFA). Each zone organizes its own mini-tournament, usually with group stages followed by knockouts, to determine the qualifiers.

Nigeria’s semi-final loss in WAFU Zone B ended their hopes of advancing to the continental finals.