Garba wants more U-17 AFCON slots after Eaglets’ loss
The head coach of Nigeria's U-17 men's team, commonly referred to as the Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba, has expressed his discontent regarding the Confederation of African Football's ruling to restrict the number of teams qualifying for the U-17 AFCON from WAFU B to just two. This criticism follows Nigeria's failure to succeed at the regional qualifying tournament.
On Tuesday, the Golden Eaglets suffered a 2-0 defeat in the second semi-final of the WAFU B tournament held in Ivory Coast, resulting in their exclusion from the 2026 U-17 AFCON and consequently the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which has now transitioned to an annual event.
This disappointment follows their inability to reach the final in the previous edition in 2024, which denied them a spot in the 2025 U-17 AFCON and, by extension, the expanded FIFA U-17 World Cup.
In light of this recent failure, Garba, who previously guided Nigeria to victory in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2013, argues that it is unjust to limit the region, which boasts the continent's strongest teams, to only two representatives.
“When they started the WAFU B competition in the Niger Republic, we had seven countries and one country would qualify,” Garba said after the defeat to Ghana.
“I was the one who raised an observation that WAFU B is the strongest zone in Africa. So, Africa needs good representation, and that is why they gave us two slots.
“I am still complaining that it is wrong. Nigeria is still rated number one in the world at the FIFA U-17 level. How can CAF give us just two slots? The last time in Ghana, there was one more slot, but unfortunately, CAF didn’t give the third slot to this zone; they gave it to WAFU A. I think it’s very unfair to a zone like the WAFU B. In youth football, we are the strongest in Africa, and we should get at least three slots.
“I am a World Cup winner, I won in 2007 and 2013 in the UAE, so I know what it means. So, CAF must look at WAFU B and give us three slots, which will go a long way for Africa, too. This is my complaint to CAF.”
Nigeria has achieved victory in the FIFA U-17 World Cup on five occasions (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015) – the highest number by any nation globally; however, the last appearance of the team in this tournament was in 2019, held in Brazil, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by the Netherlands.
Currently, Ghana and the Ivory Coast are set to secure the WAFU B tickets for the U-17 AFCON.
According to CAF’s distribution of slots for the U-17 AFCON, WAFU A, consisting of eight countries, has three slots, WAFU B, with seven countries, has two slots, the North Zone, comprising five countries, has three slots, the Central Zone, which includes eight countries, also has two slots, the Central East Zone, with ten countries, has three slots, while the South Zone, consisting of twelve countries, has three slots as well.
With 16 teams participating in the U-17 AFCON, Africa is set to produce 10 teams for the 48-team FIFA U-17 World Cup.
