CAF U-17 AFCON: Draw for Morocco 2025 set for tomorrow in Cairo

Wednesday 12 February 2025 - 15:08

The draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 will take place on Thursday at the CAF headquarters in Cairo. Scheduled to start at 1:45 p.m. local time, the event will be broadcast live on CAF TV, as confirmed in an official statement.

Former Malian international Adama Coulibaly and ex-Senegalese star Souleymane Camara will oversee the proceedings as the tournament prepares for an expanded format. Sixteen teams will participate in the competition, which is set to run from March 30 to April 19, 2025. This edition will mark a milestone as 10 African nations will secure qualification for the 48-team FIFA Under-17 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 5 to 27, 2025.

Morocco, the host nation, leads the list of qualified teams, which includes Angola, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and two teams from the UNIFFAC region yet to be determined.

The competition format divides the teams into four groups of four (Groups A, B, C, and D). Morocco, as the host, is automatically assigned the A1 position in Group A. Defending champions Senegal will take spot C1, while Burkina Faso, the third-place finisher in 2023, will be in B1, and Mali, fourth-place in 2023, will be positioned in D1.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, guaranteeing their place at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The last two available spots will be decided through play-off matches involving the third-placed teams.

The draw will be conducted using four separate pots:

Pot 1: Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, UNIFFAC 1, UNIFFAC 2, Zambia.
Pot 2: Positions A2, B2, C2, D2.
Pot 3: Positions A3, B3, C3, D3.
Pot 4: Positions A4, B4, C4, D4.

This draw marks a crucial step in the journey toward Morocco 2025, setting the stage for an exciting tournament.