CAF Dashes Nigeria Hope, Picks Bronze Winning Country To Complete 16-Team U17 AFCON

CAF Dashes Nigeria Hope, Picks Bronze Winning Country To Complete 16-Team U17 AFCON

By Admin

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has distributed the four extra slots added to the earlier 12 qualified countries to complete a 16-team U17 African Nations Cup finals, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The Nigeria U17 national team finished Third behind eventual winners, Burkina Faso and runners up Cote D'Ivoire who picked the two region's automatic tickers at the WAFU B championship held in Ghana. 

Ten countries, two from five regions have qualified for the U17 AFCON finals, however, CAF dashed Nigeria hopes of participating in the African age grade competition after allotting the four slots to Gambia and Tunisia who finished Third in their regions and two countries, each from the CECAFA and COSAFA regions. 

 Other two slots will be filled by the two top teams from UNIFFAC region qualifier which will be hosted by Cameroon from February 16-28. Five countries; Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo will participate in the championship.

With this, the Golden Eaglets, five times world champions will not benefit from the slots as they are are left out in the expanded tournament and now miss back to back FIFA U17 World Cups.