After they were outclassed by Burkina Faso in a decisive final group game, the Flying Eagles will now have to contend with another setback at the WAFU B U20 AFCON qualifying tournament in Cote d’Ivoire after it was revealed that only the champions of the competition will now advance to the tournament proper next year.
A top official informed only SCORENigeria: “With Ghana as next hosts of the U20 AFCON, only the champions of this year’s qualifying tournament will move on to the next AFCON, not the two finalists as widely reported.”
Further checks by SCORENigeria, showed that Article 12 of the U20 AFCON rules and regulations clearly stipulated this.
“The qualifying phase is organised in the six zones recognised in CAF statutes. Each zone qualifies two teams with the exception of the zone of the hostcountry organisingthe final tournament, which will qualify only one team in addition to the host country team which is admitted automatically,” it read.
“Therefore eleven teams will be qualified to the final tournament in addition to the national association hosting the final phase that is automatically admitted.”
Each zone will produce two teams and so in the case of next year’s WAFU B competition, it will be Ghana and the champions from the ongoing tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
This means that besides going past hosts Cote d’Ivoire in tomorrow’s semifinal, the Flying Eagles will also have to successfully defend their sub-regional title in the final to proceed to the 2027 U20 AFCON.
Nigeria have qualified for the last two editions of the tournament, in 2022 and 2024.
