A total of 16 Nations have confirmed participation in the CAF Qualifiers for the 2018 U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in Uruguay on 20 November–13 December 2018.
The CAF qualifiers are set to kick off in October with the Preliminary Round where 10 nations will lock for a spot in the first round.
Six nations get preliminary round byes namely, Tunisia, Ghana, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Cameroon. Thus they shall enter the ring in the first round of the qualifiers.
The three winners of the second round of the CAF qualifiers will book a ticket to Uruguay 2018, which will be the sixth edition of the U-17 global showdown.
Nigeria and Ghana have totally dominated the U-17 scene in the continent, having qualified for all the previous five editions of the U-17 Women’s World Cup.
South Africa, Gambia, Zambia and Cameroon are the other nations to have qualified, with each having qualified once apiece in previous years.
Preliminary Round Fixtures:
Libya v Djibouti
Sierra Leone v Gambia
Zambia v Botswana
Ethiopia v Kenya
Mali v Algeria
Preliminary Round Dates:
First-Leg: 13th, 14th or 15th October 2017
Return-Leg: 27th, 28th or 29th Octber 2017
Winners advance to the FIRST ROUND
First Round Fixtures
Libya/Djibouti v Tunisia
Sierra Leone/Gambia v Ghana
Zambia/Botswana v South Africa
Morocco v Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia/Kenya v Nigeria
Mali/Algeria v Cameroon
First Round Dates:
First-Leg: 1st, 2nd or 3rd December 2017
Return-Leg: 15th, 16th or 17th December 2017
Winners advance to SECOND ROUND
Second Round Dates:
First Leg: 2nd, 3rd or 4th February 2018
Return Leg: 16th, 17th or 18th Feb 2018
The THREE winners QUALIFY for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
PS: A total of 15 nations entered the previous qualifiers in 2016 but only 10 went on to take the pitch after 5 withdrew.
