The 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualification was a men's under-20 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.
Players born 1 January 2003 or later were eligible to participate in the competition. A total of twelve teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Egypt who qualified automatically as hosts.[1]
(Q): Automatically qualified for final tournament regardless of qualification results
(W): Withdrew
Schedule
The qualifying competition was split into regional competitions, with the teams entering the qualifying tournament of their zone. The schedule of each qualifying zone was as follows.
Zone
Group stage
Knockout stage
West B Zone[3]
7–14 May 2022
17–20 May 2022
West A Zone[4]
28 August–6 September 2022
9–11 September 2022
South Zone[5]
7–12 October 2022
14–16 October 2022
North Zone[6]
18–24 October 2022
—
Central-East Zone[7]
28 October–5 November 2022
8–11 November 2022
Central Zone[8]
8–14 December 2022
—
North Zone
The 2022 UNAF U-20 Tournament, which also served as the qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, took place between 18 and 24 October 2022 in Suez, Egypt.[6] The draw for the fixtures was held on 20 July 2022.[9][10] The four teams were placed in one group, with the winner qualifying for the final tournament.
The WAFU-UFOA Zone A qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were hosted by Mauritania with the matches played between 28 August–11 September 2022.[4] The matches were played at Nouakchott, Mauritania.[11]
The WAFU-UFOA Zone B qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were hosted by Niger with the matches played between 7–20 May 2022. The draw was announced on 15 April 2022.[12]
The UNIFFAC qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were held in Congo between 8–14 December 2022.[8]
The seven participating teams were drawn into two groups of four and three teams, with Congo, DR Congo, the Central African Republic and São Tomé and Príncipe drawn in Group A; and Cameroon, Chad and Equatorial Guinea drawn into Group B. However, on 25 November, São Tomé and Príncipe withdrew from the competition, with Chad and Equatorial Guinea following suit.[note 1]
The four remaining teams were then placed in one group with the winners and the runners-up qualifying for the final tournament.[13][14]
The CECAFA qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations were hosted by Sudan between 28 October and 11 November 2022.[15][7] The draw for the fixtures was held on 11 October 2022.[16]
^ abcdChad, Equatorial Guinea & Sao Tome and Principe withdrew from the qualifiers after the group stage draw was conducted.[2]
References
^ ab"La CAN U17 en Algerie, La CAN U20 en Egypte" (in French). Africa Top Sports. 29 September 2021.
^"Sao Tome backs out of UNIFFAC zonal tourney". kick442.com. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
^"Hosts Niger seek historic WAFU Zone B U20 title, holders Ghana favourites". CAF. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ abCamara, Arfang (25 August 2022). "Gambia U-20 Team Goes to Camp Ahead of Wafu Championship". allafrica.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
^ ab"COSAFA confirms calendar for 2022 as Men's U-20 returns after a one year break". Zambia Football. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ ab"Les U20 débarquent au Caire" (in French). Le Expression Dz. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
^ ab"Seven teams for U-20 AFCON qualifiers in Sudan". CECAFA. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
^ abSeke, Henock (8 November 2022). "Les U20 et U17 fixés sur leurs adversaires à l'UNIFFAC !" (in French). LeopardsFoot. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
^"Zonal Qualifiers for U-17, U-23 WAFCON draw unveiled". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
^"TotalEnergies Women's Champions League, U17 & U20 AFCONs 2023 Qualifiers Draw to take place on Wednesday in Rabat". CAF. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
^"Football. Zone a de l'UFOA : La Mauritanie va accueillir le tournoi de qualification à la CAN U20 2023 en Egypte". 17 April 2022.
^"Ghana to face arch-rivals Nigeria in WAFU B U20 & U17 Championship". 16 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^"São Tomé e Príncipe desiste do CAN sub20" (in Portuguese). 1 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
^"la RDC entre en lice jeudi contre la RCA au tournoi UNIFFAC" (in French). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
^"Sudan confirmed to host CECAFA tournament". Africa Top Sports. 9 April 2022.
^"Champions Uganda to face Ethiopia in U-20 AFCON qualifiers". CECAFA. 11 October 2022.
^"Young copper Bullets drawn in Group A for COSAFA U-20 Championship". zambianfootball.co.zm. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^"Central Africa Republic and Congo Brazzaville complete TotalEnergies U20 AFCON Egypt 2023 list". CAF. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.