The 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualification is a men's under-17 football competition that decides the participating teams of the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Players born on 1 January 2008 or later are eligible to participate in the competition. The host country for the final stage of the edition is Ivory Coast, appointed during the General Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 22 October 2024.[1][2]
The UNAF qualifiers took place in Casablanca, Morocco, from 11 to 23 November 2024. The qualifying tournament draw was held on 1 October 2024. The five UNAF members competed in a single round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final tournament.
The WAFU-UFOA Zone A qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were hosted by Senegal with the matches played starting 22 October 2024. The matches were played at Dakar, Senegal.
The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The winners and the runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals. Guinea withdrew after draw.
The WAFU-UFOA Zone B qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were hosted by Ghana with the matches played between 15 and 28 May 2024, the draw was announced on 23 April 2024.[3]
The COSAFA qualifiers for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 5 to 14 December 2024. The draw for the groups took place on 5 September 2024.
The qualification structure is as follows:
Group stage: The 12 teams were divided into three groups, with the group winners and the best runner-up advancing to the knockout stage.
Knockout stage: The four teams advancing from the second round competed in a three-match knockout round, with the winners of the semifinals qualifying for the final tournament.