The Flying Eagles of Nigeria will not face host nation Egypt in the group stage of the upcoming CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) holds today in Cairo, at 15:00 hours GMT, Sports247 reports.
In a press release issued by CAF, the new draw format was outlined following the withdrawal of Côte d’Ivoire as host and Egypt stepping in as the new host nation.
Thirteen qualified teams will be divided into three groups: Group A will consist of five teams, while Groups B and C will each contain four teams.
The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.
According to the seeding, Egypt will automatically be placed in position A1, Nigeria—who finished third in the last edition, will be placed in B1, and defending champions Senegal will be in C1.
The draw will feature two pots.
Pot 1 includes teams that qualified for the last edition: Tunisia, Zambia, and Central African Republic. These teams will be drawn into the remaining positions in the three groups.
Pot 2 includes teams that did not participate in the previous tournament: Morocco, debutants Sierra Leone, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, and DR Congo. They will fill the remaining positions across the groups.
The tournament is scheduled to take place from 27 April to 18 May, 2025, and also serves as the qualifying competition for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with all four semi-finalists securing a place at the global event.
Nigeria was originally drawn in the same group as Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa when Côte d’Ivoire was still the host.
However, the change in host country prompted CAF to conduct a new draw to reflect the updated tournament structure.
Qualified Teams for U-20 AFCON Egypt 2025
CECAFA: Tanzania, Kenya
COSAFA: South Africa, Zambia
UNAF: Egypt (hosts), Morocco, Tunisia
UNIFFAC: DR Congo, Central African Republic
WAFU A: Senegal, Sierra Leone
WAFU B: Nigeria, Ghana
