The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 qualifying tournament in the North African zone will now feature four teams after Libya withdrew from the competition, prompting another change to the schedule.
The Union of North African Football Associations (UNAF) confirmed on Tuesday that the tournament will take place in Tunisia from 10 to 16 November, with Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt competing for places at the continental finals.
The opening fixture will see Algeria’s young Fennecs face Morocco’s Lionceaux de l’Atlas, in a match that will be particularly eagerly anticipated.
UNAF said it had received correspondence from the Libyan Football Federation explaining that its Under-17 side was unable to take part in the qualifying tournament.
The withdrawal represents the latest alteration to an event whose format and dates had already been changed in September.
The competition was originally scheduled for 26 September to 2 October, with Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya due to participate. Morocco’s late inclusion led to the tournament being postponed until November and expanded to five teams.
Libya’s decision to pull out has now restored the field to four sides. The mini-league format will remain in place, with each team playing the other three once. However, the programme has been reduced to three matchdays, meaning every side will play on each round without a team receiving a bye.
The tournament will therefore conclude on 16 November rather than running over a longer period.
UNAF has published a schedule comprising six matches in Sousse and Monastir. Algeria, coached by Karim Ziani, will meet Morocco in the opening game on 10 November.
Both matches on the first matchday, Tuesday, 10 November, will be played at the Olympic Stadium of Sousse. Algeria and Morocco will kick off at 14:00, followed by Tunisia against Egypt at 17:00.
The second round will also take place in Sousse on Friday, 13 November. Tunisia will play Algeria at 14:00 before Egypt face Morocco at 17:00.
The final round is scheduled for Monday, 16 November, with both matches starting simultaneously at 14:00. Tunisia will host Morocco at the Olympic Stadium of Sousse, while Algeria will play Egypt at the Mustapha-Ben-Jannet Stadium in Monastir.
All kick-off times are local Tunisian time, which is the same as in Algeria.
According to La Gazette du Fennec, three qualifying places are expected to be available for the four participating teams. That arrangement would give the contenders a relatively significant margin for error.
Algeria will field its Under-16 generation under Ziani and will aim to secure qualification before the final matchday. Morocco, despite being the host nation for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 tournament, will also take part in the qualifying event.
Following two successive revisions to the competition, the four teams will now hope the focus can remain on the matches, beginning with the Algeria-Morocco encounter on the opening day.