Africa’s representatives for the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup have been confirmed as Senegal, Burkina Faso, Morocco, and Mali. These teams secured their places after the quarter-final matches of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) concluded on Thursday.
The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 19th edition of the biennial international men’s youth football tournament. It involves 24 teams from the under-17 national teams of FIFA member associations across six confederations. The tournament is scheduled to take place from 10 November to 2 December, although the venue is yet to be decided (initially Peru was planned).
This edition of the tournament marks its return after a four-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the 2021 edition.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets hold the record for the most successful team in the tournament, having won five FIFA U-17 World Cup titles (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015). They were also runners-up three times (1987, 2001, and 2009). Nigeria has also won the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations twice, with their most recent victory in 2007.
The defending champions are Brazil, who clinched their fourth title in 2019.
With Africa allocated four slots in the tournament, the teams that reach the semi-finals of the U17 AFCON will represent the continent at the global event.
Among the qualified teams, Mali holds the most experience, having qualified for the tournament five times previously. This will be their sixth qualification. Their best performance was in 2015 when they reached the final but lost to African rivals Nigeria. Their most recent qualification was in 2017 in India, where they finished fourth. In previous editions, they reached the quarter-finals in 1997 and 2001, while exiting in the group stage in 1999.
Burkina Faso will make their return to the global stage after their last qualification in 2011, where they were eliminated in the group stages. They have qualified for the World Cup a total of four times, with their best performance being a third-place finish in 2001 after defeating Argentina 2-0 in the play-off.
Morocco is qualifying for the World Cup for the second time in their history, following their debut in 2013 when they reached the round of 16.
Senegal has also qualified for the World Cup for the second time, making their debut in 2019 after Guinea’s elimination. In their first campaign, they reached the round of 16 after finishing second in their group but were eliminated by Spain with a 2-1 loss in the knockout phase.
NAN
