2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes or 2023 U17 AFCON for short was the 14th edition (19th if editions without hosts are included) of the biennial African youth football tournament organized by Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 17 and below and the first to feature 12 teams in the group stage instead of 8.

2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
كأس الأمم الإفريقية تحت 17 سنة 2023
Tournament details
Host countryAlgeria
Dates29 April – 19 May
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)3 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Senegal (1st title)
Runners-up Morocco
Third place Burkina Faso
Fourth place Mali
Tournament statistics
Matches played23
Goals scored58 (2.52 per match)
Top scorer(s)Senegal Amara Diouf (5 goals)
Best player(s)Burkina Faso Souleymane Alio
Best goalkeeperSenegal Serigne Diouf
Fair play award Morocco
2025

Algeria was chosen as hosts of this edition on 15 May 2021[1][2][3][4] which it organized from 29 April to 19 May. All four semi-finalists qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia as the CAF representatives.

Cameroon were the defending champions but were eliminated in the group stage after losses to Burkina Faso and to Mali. Senegal won their inaugural title, defeating hosts of the cancelled 2021 edition Morocco 2–1 in the final.

Qualification

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The CAF decided on 20 July 2017 that the qualification format should be changed and split according to zones.[5]

Player eligibility

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Players born on 1 January 2006 or later were eligible to participate in this edition of the tournament.

Qualified teams

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The following twelve teams qualified for the group stages. However, South Sudan was disqualified from this edition of the tournament after 5 of its players failed the MRI test.[6]

Note: All appearance statistics count only those since the introduction of the group stages in 1995.

Team Zone Date of qualification Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
  Algeria (hosts) North Zone 17 May 2021 2nd 2009 Runners-up (2009)
  Morocco 14 November 2022 3rd 2019 Fourth place (2013)
  Nigeria West B Zone 21 June 2022 10th 2019 Champions (2001, 2007)
  Burkina Faso 21 June 2022 7th 2011 Champions (2011)
  Senegal West A Zone 7 October 2022 3rd 2019 Group stage (2011, 2019)
  Mali 7 October 2022 9th 2017 Champions (2015, 2017)
  Cameroon Central Zone 15 January 2023 8th 2019 Champions (2003, 2019)
  Congo 18 January 2023 3rd 2013 Third place (2011)
  Somalia Central-East Zone 12 October 2022 1st None Debut
  South Sudan 12 October 2022 1st None Debut
  South Africa South Zone 9 December 2022 4th 2015 Runners-up (2015)
  Zambia 9 December 2022 2nd 2015 Group stage (2015)

Venues

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The Algerian Football Federation choose three venues in three cities across the host nation Algeria for hosting this edition of the competition: Algiers, Annaba and Constantine.[7]

Algiers Annaba
Nelson Mandela Stadium 19 May 1956 Stadium
Capacity: 40,784 Capacity: 58,100
   
Constantine
Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium
Capacity: 22,986
 

Match officials

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Referees
  •   Patrice Mebiame
  •   Youcef Gamouh
  •   Vincentia Amedome
  •   Muhammad Elmabrouk
  •   Ousmane Diakaté
  •   Merveil Mandekouzou Vendafara
  •   Akhona Makalima
  •   Nyagrowa Dickens
  •   Adalbert Diouf
  •   Ahmed Arajiga
  •   Soro Tuonifere
  •   Jeannot Bito
  •   Jelly Alfred Chavani
  •   Ben Amisy Tsimanohitsy
  •   Abdulsalam Kasim
Assistant referees
  •   Adolf Lamien Dofinte
  •   Sirak Menghis
  •   Abel Abane
  •   Diana Chikotesha
  •   Ronald Katenya
  •   Queency Victoire
  •   Wael Hannachi
  •   Asma Feriel Ouahab
  •   Stephen Yembe
  •   Fanta Kone
  •   Guylain Ngila
  •   Lucky Kegakologetswe
  •   Djery Gomes Lopes
  •   Carine Atezambong Fomo
  •   Mohamed Serradj
  •   Eba Médard Ettien
  •   Youssef Mahmoud
  •   Mamadou Ngom
  •   Mary Njoroge
Video assistant referees
  •   Lahlou Benbraham
  •   Ahmed El Ghandour
  •   Ahmad Heeralall

Squads

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Draw

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The group stage draw was conducted on 1 February 2023 at 12:00 WET (UTC±0) at the Cercle National de l'Armée in Algiers, the capital city of hosts Algeria.[8] The 12 teams were drawn into 3 groups of 4 teams. As hosts, Algeria was seeded in Group A and allocated to position A1, while 2019 champions Cameroon was seeded in Group C and allocated to position C1 and 4th-place-finished team also from the 2019 edition Nigeria was seeded in Group B and allocated to position B1; the remaining nine teams were seeded based on their results in the previous valid edition in 2019.[9]

Seeded Pot 1 Pot 2
  1.   Algeria (hosts) (A1)
  2.   Nigeria (B1)
  3.   Cameroon (C1)
  1.   Morocco
  2.   Senegal
  3.   Mali

Group stage

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Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to the three points for a win (3 for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 or none for a loss) and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 13):[10]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Drawing of lots.

All times are local, WAT and CET (UTC+1).[11]

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Senegal 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9 Knockout stage
2   Algeria (H) 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4
3   Congo 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
4   Somalia 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Algeria  2–0  Somalia
Anatouf   22', 52' Report
Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)
Senegal  1–0  Congo
Fallou Diouf   78' Report

Algeria  0–3  Senegal
Report
Congo  1–1  Somalia
Nzouzi   58' Report Diini   32'
Referee: Vincentia Amédomé (Togo)

Congo  1–1  Algeria
Ndzoukou   67' Report Anatouf   74'
Referee: Abdulsalam Kasim (Nigeria)
Somalia  0–3  Senegal
Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Morocco 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6 Knockout stage
2   Nigeria 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
3   South Africa 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 3
4   Zambia 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Nigeria  1–0  Zambia
Daniel   76' Report
Morocco  2–0  South Africa
Report
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)

Nigeria  0–1  Morocco
Report Maâli   2'
Referee: Ousmane Diakaté (Mali)
South Africa  3–2  Zambia
Report Mwanza   45', 48'
Referee: Muhammad Elmabrouk (Libya)

South Africa  2–3  Nigeria
Report
Referee: Nyagrowa Dickens (Kenya)
Zambia  2–1  Morocco
Report Ouazane   19'
Referee: Merveil Mandekouzou Vendafara (Central Africa Republic)

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Mali 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 Knockout stage
2   Burkina Faso 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
3   Cameroon 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0
4   South Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Disqualified
Source: CAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Cameroon  Cancelled  South Sudan
Mali  1–0  Burkina Faso
M. Doumbia   26' Report
Referee: Abdulsalam Kasim (Nigeria)

Cameroon  0–2  Mali
Report
Referee: Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
Burkina Faso  Cancelled  South Sudan

Burkina Faso  2–1  Cameroon
S. Alio   76', 79' Report Yondjio   62'
Referee: Mustapha Kech Chaf (Morocco)
South Sudan  Cancelled  Mali

Ranking of third-placed teams

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With South Sudan's disqualification, rankings against the fourth-placed team of group A and B were not counted.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A   Congo 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1 Knockout stage
2 B   South Africa 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3 0
3 C   Cameroon 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0
Source: CAF


Knockout stage

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Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
10 May – Algiers
 
 
  Senegal5
 
14 May – Annaba
 
  South Africa0
 
  Senegal (p)1 (5)
 
11 May – Algiers
 
  Burkina Faso1 (4)
 
  Nigeria1
 
19 May –Algiers
 
  Burkina Faso2
 
  Senegal2
 
10 May – Constantine
 
  Morocco1
 
  Morocco3
 
14 May – Constantine
 
  Algeria0
 
  Morocco (p)0 (6)
 
11 May – Annaba
 
  Mali0 (5) Third place
 
  Mali3
 
18 May – Annaba
 
  Congo0
 
  Burkina Faso2
 
 
  Mali1
 

Quarter finals

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Winners qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia.

Senegal  5–0  South Africa
Report
Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)

Morocco  3–0  Algeria
Report
Referee: Muhammad Elmabrouk (Libya)

Mali  3–0  Congo
Report
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)

Nigeria  1–2  Burkina Faso
Abdullahi   67' Report A. Camara   45', 57' (pen.)
Referee: Youcef Gamouh (Algeria)

Semi-finals

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Senegal  1–1  Burkina Faso
A. Fall   16' Report Ouédraogo   83'
Penalties
5–4
Referee: Muhammad Elmabrouk (Libya)

Morocco  0–0  Mali
Report
Penalties
6–5
Referee: Abdulsalam Kasim (Nigeria)

Third-place match

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Burkina Faso  2–1  Mali
Report M. Doumbia   58'
Referee: Youcef Gamouh (Algeria)

Final

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Senegal  2–1  Morocco
Report Aït Boudlal   14'
Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)

Winners

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 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 
 
Senegal
First title

Awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Golden Boot[12] Most Valuable Player[12] Best Goalkeeper[12] Coach of the Tournament[12] Fair Play award[12]
  Amara Diouf   Souleymane Alio   Serigne Diouf   Said Chiba   Morocco
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Serigne Diouf   Lassina Traoré
  Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal
  Serigne Fallou Diouf
  Yahaya Lawali
  Sékou Koné
  Abdou Aziz Fall
  Rachid Ouedraogo
  Amara Diouf
  Souleymane Alio
  Mamadou Doumbia

Goalscorers

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There were 58 goals scored in 23 matches, for an average of 2.52 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

  •   Mamadou Doumbia

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

  •   Said Mohamed (against Senegal)
  •   Waylon Renecke (against Senegal)
  •   Benjamin Wallis (against Senegal)

Qualified teams for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup

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The following teams from CAF qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA U-17 World Cup1
  Senegal 10 May 2023 1 (2019)
  Morocco 10 May 2023 1 (2013)
  Mali 11 May 2023 5 (1997, 1999, 2001, 2015, 2017)
  Burkina Faso 11 May 2023 4 (1999, 2001, 2009, 2011)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "🟧 CAF Executive Committee Media Statement". CAFOnline.com. 15 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2022. TOTAL CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations 2023: Algeria
  2. ^ "L'Algérie organisera l'édition 2023" [Foot / CAN U17: Algeria will organize the 2023 edition]. Le Soir d'Algerie (in French). 15 May 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  3. ^ "La CAF confie au Algérie l'organisation de la CAN U17 en 2023" [CAF: CAN U17 in Algeria, CAN U20 en Egypt]. Afrik Foot (in French). 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. ^ "U17 AFCON: Algeria to host the 2023 edition". Sport News Africa. 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee – 20 July 2017". CAFOnline.com. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2019. The Committee decided to organize zonal qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations for the youth categories (U-17, U-20, U-23), with the flexibility offered to each zone to propose a formula. The committee also resolved to strengthen medical checks in determining the eligibility of players.
  6. ^ Ninrew, Chany (30 April 2023). "South Sudan U17 disqualified in AFCON over age test". South Sudan Eye Radio. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  7. ^ "TotalEnergies U-17 AFCON Algeria 2023 full fixtures released". CAFOnline.com. 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  8. ^ "TotalEnergies U-17 AFCON draw to be conducted on Wednesday 01 February". CAFOnline.com. 25 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. ^ "TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations Algeria 2023 Draw Procedure" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  10. ^ "U-17 AFCON Regulations" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Algeria 2023 Fixtures U17" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 2 February 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Burkina Faso's Alio named TotalEnergies U17 AFCON MVP". CAFOnline.com. 20 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Senegal's dominance shines in TotalEnergies U17 AFCON Best XI". CAFOnline.com. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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