Tough road ahead for Amajimbos after Afcon draw

The final draw for the Confederation of African Football (Caf), u17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) was held on Wednesday in Egypt, unveiling a mouthwatering list of matches for the tournament, which takes place from 13 May to 2 June.

The draw, hosted at the Caf headquarters in Cairo, featured leading players, among them Fiston Mayele, the Pyramids’ forward who helped his team win the 2024/25 Caf Champions League title by scoring in the second leg against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Aliou Dieng, the Malian footballer who plays for Al Ahly in Egypt, and Ahmed Belhadi, of Ceramica Cleopatra, also assisted with the ceremony.

Group A includes the hosts, Morocco, who won the tournament for the first time in 2025, defeating Mali 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw.

A feature of the group is its fierce North African rivalries, with Tunisia and Egypt also in the four-team line-up. Ethiopia faces a tough task trying to get past those three.

Côte d’Ivoire, winners of the title in 2013, which they won by beating Nigeria in the final, will face Cameroon in Group B. The Indomitable Lions are also former winners, lifting the trophy in 2003 and 2019. They’ll also take on Uganda and the newcomers, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mali, last year’s runner-up, headlines Group C. They’ll tackle the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) sides, Angola and Mozambique, with Tanzania completing the four-team line-up.

South Africa, whose previous best finish was runner-up in 2015, is in Group D, perhaps the toughest of the lot.

Amajimbos will face off against the 2023 champions, Senegal. They’ll also be up against Ghana, the first champions of the u17 Afcon in 1995, and the winners again in 1999. Algeria, the fourth team in the group, will represent North African hopes.

There is plenty at stake in the group stage matches, with the eight teams that advance to the quarterfinals earning automatic qualification for the 2026 u17 FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year.

The third-place finishers will meet in two playoff matches, from which two teams will earn berths at the World Cup, thus bringing the final number of African qualifiers for Qatar to 10.

Confederation of African Football (Caf), u17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Groups

Group A
Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ethiopia

Group B
Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Uganda, DR Congo,

Group C
Mali, Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique

Group D
Senegal, South Africa, Algeria, Ghana

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Siya Pongco

A passionate reader and dedicated writer, Siya possesses three degrees from Rhodes University including a Postgraduate Diploma at Rhodes University. He also played amateur cricket and soccer, both during his university years. While honing his journalism skills at Grocott’s Mail in Makhanda, he developed a profound interest in the community’s response to crime. Additionally, he covered topics such as art/culture and student politics at Rhodes University in 2022. In his spare time, Siya can be found exploring galleries, dining at restaurants, indulging in literature, taking photographs or savouring his favourite dish, spaghetti.

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