The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the final draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025, will be held in Cairo on Thursday, February 13th.
This expanded tournament will feature 16 teams competing from March 30th to April 19th, 2025, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
Notably, this competition serves as a crucial qualifying event, with a record ten African nations earning berths in the 48-team 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 5th to 27th, 2025.
The 16 participating teams will be drawn into four groups (A, B, C, and D), each containing four teams. Host nation Morocco has been automatically placed in position A1 within Group A.
The remaining top seeds for each group have been determined based on the final standings of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 AFCON, Algeria 2023. As the reigning champions, Senegal will occupy position C1. Burkina Faso, who finished third in 2023, will be placed in B1, and Mali, who came fourth, will take position D1.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals and, importantly, secure qualification for the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The tournament will then proceed with a knockout stage.
The final two African qualification spots for the FIFA World Cup will be decided through play-off matches. These play-offs will involve the teams that finish third in each of the four groups. The draw for the play-off positions will assign teams to A2, B2, C2, D2, A3, B3, C3, D3, A4, B4, C4, and D4.
By Oluwadamilola Olaleye