Nigeria will not feature at the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup as CAF unveils Africa’s representatives for the tournament scheduled for Qatar.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed the 10 countries that will represent Africa at the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, with Nigeria missing from the list.

CAF announced the final list after Uganda secured the last qualification slot for the tournament.
Uganda booked their place on Saturday after defeating Ghana’s national under-17 football team 8-7 on penalties in the CAF U-17 AFCON Morocco 2026 play-off match. The encounter had ended 2-2 in regulation time before Uganda emerged victorious in the dramatic shootout.
The victory completed Africa’s final list of teams for the expanded 48-country tournament. Mozambique also secured qualification through the play-off stage.
CAF later confirmed the full list of African representatives for the competition, with most of the qualified countries coming from North and West Africa.
The teams representing Africa at the tournament are Morocco, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Tanzania, Algeria, Mozambique and Uganda.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will not participate in the tournament after failing to qualify for the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, which serves as the qualification pathway for the World Cup.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar is scheduled to hold from November 19 to December 13, 2026.
Host nation Qatar will compete alongside several countries from different confederations, including Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, the United States, Mexico, Japan and Saudi Arabia.