2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations


The 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, officially known as the Total U-17 Africa Cup Of Nations, Gabon 2017, was the 12th edition of the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football for players aged 17 and below.
The top four teams qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.

Host selection

The tournament was originally set to take place in Madagascar between 2–16 April 2017. However, the CAF Executive Committee decided on 12 January 2017 to withdraw the hosting rights from Madagascar following the reports of the CAF inspection teams.
On 3 February 2017, Gabon were selected as the new hosts, and the tournament will now be played from 14 to 28 May 2017.

Qualification

The qualifiers were played between June and October 2016. At the end of the qualification phase, seven teams joined the hosts Gabon.

Player eligibility

Players born 1 January 2000 or later are eligible to participate in the competition.

Qualified teams

Gabon replaced Madagascar due to their selection as the new hosts. Moreover, Tanzania replaced Congo due to a Congolese player failing to turn up for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging test. Mali were cleared to compete after their suspension was lifted by FIFA on 28 April 2017.
Note: All appearance statistics count only those since the introduction of final tournament in 1995.
TeamAppearancePrevious best appearance

Venues

The two venues were confirmed in March 2017.
Libreville
Port-Gentil
Stade de l'Amitié
Stade de Port-Gentil
Capacity: 40,000
Capacity: 20,000



Original venues of Madagascar before hosts were withdrawn.
StadiumCityCapacity
Mahamasina StadiumAntananarivo22,000
Vontovorona Sport ComplexVontovorona?

Draw

The draw for the tournament took place on 24 October 2016, 11:00 local time at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo.
The teams were seeded based on the results of the last edition.
Level [|1]Level 2Level 3Level 4

    • Squads

    Each squad can contain a maximum of 21 players.

    Match officials

    A total of 14 referees and 15 assistant referees were selected for the tournament.
    Referees
    • Mohamed Maarouf Eid
    • Souleiman Ahmed Djamal
    • Ferdinand Udoh Aniete
    • Mustapha Ghorbal
    • Mihindou Mbina Gauthier
    • Abou Coulibaly
    • Hamada Nampiandraza
    • Pacifique Ndabihawenimana
    • Davies Ogenche Omweno
    • Hassan Mohamed Hagi
    • Maguette Ndiaye
    • Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo
    Reserve Referees
    • Haithem Kossai
    • Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea
    Assistant Referees
  • Mahmoud Abouelregal
  • Aymen Ismail
  • Seydou Tiama
  • Moussounda Montel
  • Souru Phatsoane
  • Gilbert Lista
  • Gbèmassiandan Kouton
  • Arsénio Marengula
  • Lahcen Azgaou
  • Abdoul Aziz Moctar Saley
  • Mamady Tere
  • Frank John Komba
  • Temesgin Samuel Atango
  • Soulaimane Amaldine
    • Reserve Assistant Referee
    • Attia Amsaad

    Group stage

    The group winners and runners-up advance to the semi-finals and qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
    ;Tiebreakers
    The teams are ranked according to points. If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
    1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
    2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
    3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
    4. If, after applying criteria 1 to 3 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 7 apply;
    5. Goal difference in all games;
    6. Goals scored in all games;
    7. Drawing of lots.
    All times are local, WAT.

    Group A

    ----
    ----

    Group B

    ----
    ----

    Knockout stage

    In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, kicks from the penalty mark are used to determine the winner.

    Bracket

    Semi-finals

    ----

    Third place match

    Final

    Goalscorers

    ;6 goals
    ;4 goals
    ;3 goals
    ;2 goals
    ;1 goal
    The following four teams from CAF qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
    TeamQualified onPrevious appearances in tournament1