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For years, Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have been a dominant force in global youth football, holding a record five FIFA U-17 World Cup titles as the only team to achieve such a feat.
However, their recent failure to qualify for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco has raised concerns about the state of age-grade football in Nigeria. Despite speculations that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) might grant them a slot, the Golden Eaglets have officially missed out, marking a significant setback.
Nigeria finished third at the 2024 WAFU B U-17 Championship in Ghana, with Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast securing the two automatic qualification spots from the region. With the expanded U-17 AFCON now featuring 16 teams and serving as the qualification route for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, many expected the additional slots to provide Nigeria with a second chance. Instead, CAF awarded the extra places to Gambia, Tunisia, and teams from the CECAFA and COSAFA regions. The final two spots will be determined through the UNIFFAC qualifiers in Cameroon from February 16 to 28, 2025.
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Following further investigation, despite CAF’s decision to expand the 2025 U-17 AFCON from 12 to 16 teams, Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have been left out of the tournament. The additional slots were allocated to WAFU-A (as the reigning champion’s region), UNAF (as the host zone), CECAFA, and COSAFA—leaving WAFU-B, where Nigeria competes, without an extra slot.
Meanwhile, Tunisia and Gambia have officially qualified, with Gambia securing a spot despite finishing third in the WAFU-A qualifiers held in Senegal in 2024. Notably, Nigeria also finished third in the WAFU-B qualifiers held in Ghana the same year, yet was not considered for a place at AFCON. This raises the question: What was the selection criteria that led to CAF choosing Gambia ahead of Nigeria?
The 2025 U-17 AFCON is scheduled to take place in Morocco from March 30 to April 19. But is this a fair decision by CAF? It’s worth debating.
Imagine if CAF used this zoning system for World Cup qualifiers, while it is true that Nigeria failed to secure automatic qualification, the fact remains that Africa’s strongest youth teams many of whom come from WAFU-B don’t always get the chance to represent the continent.
Nigeria is the most successful U-17 team in the world, and WAFU-B is arguably the strongest zone. It deserves more slots in major youth tournaments. If CAF truly wants to showcase Africa’s best talents, a more balanced qualification system must be considered.
For now, however, the dream of another U-17 World Cup triumph is on hold, and Nigerian fans will have to watch from the sidelines as Africa’s best compete for a place in Qatar 2025.
