2020 African U-17 Women's World Cup qualification

2020 African U-17 Women's World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates	10 January – 14 March 2020; (remaining matches cancelled)
Teams	20 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	23
Goals scored	101 (4.39 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ophelia Amponsah; Aisha Masaka; Juliet Nalukenge (5 goals each)
	← 2018 2022 →

The 2020 African U-17 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament was the 7th edition of the African U-17 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament, the biennial international youth football competition organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to determine which women's under-17 national teams from Africa qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Players born on or after 1 January 2003 were eligible to compete in the tournament.

Three teams would have qualified from this tournament for the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup (originally 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic) in India as the CAF representatives.^[1]^[2] However, FIFA announced on 17 November 2020 that this edition of the World Cup would be cancelled.^[3] As a result, all remaining qualifying matches were cancelled.^[4]

Draw

A total of 20 (out of 54) CAF member national teams entered the qualifying rounds. The draw was held on 10 May 2020 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

In the preliminary round, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties, with teams divided into four pots based on their geographical zones and those in the same pot drawn to play against each other.
In the first round, the eight preliminary round winners and the four teams receiving byes to the first round were allocated into six ties based on the preliminary round tie numbers, with four preliminary round winners playing against the four teams receiving byes, and the other four preliminary round winners playing against each other.
In the second round, the six first round winners were allocated into three ties based on the first round tie numbers.

Bye to first round (4 teams)	Preliminary round entrants (16 teams)
Bye to first round (4 teams)	Pot A (4 from COSAFA)	Pot B (5 from CECAFA + 1 from UNAF)	Pot C (2 from UNIFFAC)	Pot D (3 from WAFU A + 1 from WAFU B)
Cameroon Ghana Nigeria South Africa	Botswana Namibia (W) Zambia Zimbabwe	Burundi Djibouti Ethiopia Tanzania Uganda Morocco	DR Congo São Tomé and Príncipe	Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Niger

Notes

Teams in bold qualified for the World Cup.
(W): Withdrew after draw

Did not enter

Format

Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to determine the winner.

Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.^[7]^[9]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all second round matches, originally scheduled for 1–3 and 8–10 May 2020, had been postponed until further notice.^[10] The CAF announced the new dates in July 2020.^[11] However, in October 2020, CAF announced that all third round matches, rescheduled for 30 October – 1 November and 20–22 November 2020, were again postponed due to travel restrictions across parts of Africa as a result of COVID-19.^[12] The CAF sent a letter to the member associations on 21 December 2020 confirming the cancellation of the qualifiers.^[4]

Round	Leg	Date
Preliminary round	First leg	10–12 January 2020
Preliminary round	Second leg	24–26 January 2020
First round	First leg	28 February–1 March 2020
First round	Second leg	13–15 March 2020
Second round	First leg	1–3 May 2020, postponed to 30 October – 1 November 2020, eventually cancelled
Second round	Second leg	15–17 May 2020, postponed to 20–22 November 2020, eventually cancelled

Bracket

The three winners of the second round would have qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.^[6]^[7]

Preliminary round				First round				Second round

Namibia	—	—

Zambia	—	—	w/o
				Zambia	2	0	2

				South Africa	0	3	3



								South Africa

								Morocco
Botswana	5	2	7

Zimbabwe	0	0	0
				Botswana	0	0	0

				Morocco	1	3	4
Djibouti	0	0	0

Morocco	7	7	14

Preliminary round				First round				Second round

Tanzania	5	1	6

Burundi	1	0	1
				Tanzania	2	0	2

				Uganda	1	5	6
Uganda	2	3	5

Ethiopia	0	1	1
								Uganda

								Cameroon
São Tomé and Príncipe	—	—	w/o

DR Congo	—	—
				São Tomé and Príncipe	0	0	0

				Cameroon	4	6	10

Preliminary round				First round				Second round

Liberia	4	5	9

Niger	0	0	0
				Liberia	0	0	0

				Ghana	2	8	10



								Ghana

								Nigeria
Guinea	5	3	8

Guinea-Bissau	0	3	3
				Guinea	1	1	2

				Nigeria	6	5	11

Preliminary round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Namibia	w/o	Zambia	—	—
Botswana	7–0	Zimbabwe	5–0	2–0
Djibouti	0–14	Morocco	0–7	0–7
Tanzania	6–1	Burundi	5–1	1–0
Uganda	5–1	Ethiopia	2–0	3–1
São Tomé and Príncipe	w/o	DR Congo	—	—
Liberia	9–0	Niger	4–0	5–0
Guinea	8–3	Guinea-Bissau	5–0	3–3

11 January 2020

--:-- UTC+2

Namibia	Cancelled	Zambia
	Report (Soccerway)

Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek

25 January 2020

--:-- UTC+2

Zambia	Cancelled	Namibia
	Report (Soccerway)

Zambia won on walkover after Namibia withdrew, citing financial constraints.^[13]

10 January 2020

18:00 UTC+2

Botswana	5–0	Zimbabwe
Tlhapi 38' Modise 72' Sedirwa 76', 90' Motlogelwa 88' (pen.)	Report (Soccerway)

National Stadium, Gaborone

26 January 2020

15:00 UTC+2

Zimbabwe	0–2	Botswana
	Report (Soccerway)	Manewe 59' Munyatsi 84'

Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo

Botswana won 7–0 on aggregate.

10 January 2020

17:00 UTC+3

Djibouti	0–7	Morocco
	Report (Soccerway)	Errakas 4' Temmar 17' Heddiya 27' Jbilou 44' Stiten 55' Knia 89' Nassiri 90'

El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium, Djibouti

24 January 2020

15:00 UTC+1

Morocco	7–0	Djibouti
Knia 31', 65', 78' Jbilou 41', 87' Errakas 38' Erroudani 71' (pen)	Report (Soccerway)

Stade Boubker Ammar, Salé

Referee: Vincentia Amedome (Togo)

Morocco won 14–0 on aggregate.

12 January 2020

16:00 UTC+3

Tanzania	5–1	Burundi
Masaka 13', 17', 61' Meshack 38' Mbunda 45'	Report (Soccerway)	Karenzo 75'

National Stadium, Dar es Salaam

Referee: Agnetta Napangor (Kenya)

25 January 2020

15:00 UTC+2

Burundi	0–1	Tanzania
	Report (Soccerway)	Mbunda 33'

Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium, Bujumbura

Tanzania won 6–1 on aggregate.

11 January 2020

16:00 UTC+3

Uganda	2–0	Ethiopia
Nalukenge 4' Nagaddya 85'	Report (Soccerway)

Startimes Stadium, Kampala

Referee: Khadmallah Koko (Sudan)

26 January 2020

16:00 UTC+3

Ethiopia	1–3	Uganda
Kalsa 61' (pen.)	Report (Soccerway)	Kunihira 55' Nalukenge 64', 78'

Bahir Dar Stadium, Bahir Dar

Referee: Aline Umutoni (Rwanda)

Uganda won 5–1 on aggregate.

11 January 2020

15:00 UTC±0

São Tomé and Príncipe	Cancelled	DR Congo
	Report (Soccerway)

Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho, São Tomé

25 January 2020

--:-- UTC+1

DR Congo	Cancelled	São Tomé and Príncipe
	Report (Soccerway)

São Tomé and Príncipe won on walkover after DR Congo did not appear for the first leg.^[14]^[15]

12 January 2020

16:00 UTC±0

Liberia	4–0	Niger
Kallon 13' Kieh 29' (pen.), 75', 84' (pen.)	Report (Soccerway)

Antoinette Tubman Stadium, Monrovia

Referee: Aïssata Boudy Lam (Mauritania)

26 January 2020

16:00 UTC+1

Niger	0–5	Liberia
	Report (Soccerway)	Kallon 39', 63' Gebah 58' Kieh 89' Jackson 90+2'

Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey

Referee: Bijou Mayinga (DR Congo)

Liberia won 9–0 on aggregate.

11 January 2020

16:00 UTC±0

Guinea	5–0	Guinea-Bissau
Dédé 30', 81' Samoura 52' N. Camara 61', 63'	Report (Soccerway)

Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry

Referee: Folusho Ajayi (Nigeria)

25 January 2020

16:00 UTC±0

Guinea-Bissau	3–3	Guinea
Cissé 3' (pen.), 35', 70'	Report (Soccerway)	N. Camara 23' Essomba 25' M. Camara 51'

Estádio 24 de Setembro, Bissau

Guinea won 8–3 on aggregate.

First round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Zambia	2–3	South Africa	2–0	0–3
Botswana	0–4	Morocco	0–1	0–3 (awd.)
Tanzania	2–6	Uganda	2–1	0–5
São Tomé and Príncipe	0–10	Cameroon	0–4	0–6
Liberia	0–10	Ghana	0–2	0–8
Guinea	2–11	Nigeria	1–6	1–5

28 February 2020

15:00 UTC+2

Zambia	2–0	South Africa
Malunga 18' E. Banda 42'	Report (Soccerway)

Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka

14 March 2020

15:00 UTC+2

South Africa	3–0	Zambia
Wade 12' Gamede 72' Taiwe 79'	Report (Soccerway)

Bidvest Stadium, Johannesburg

Referee: Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)

South Africa won 3–2 on aggregate.

28 February 2020

18:00 UTC+2

Botswana	0–1	Morocco
	Report (Soccerway)	Temmar 22'

National Stadium, Gaborone

Referee: Jonesia Rukyaa (Tanzania)

14 March 2020

15:00 UTC+1

Morocco	3–0 Awarded	Botswana
	Report (Soccerway)

Stade Boubker Ammar, Salé

Referee: Sylvina Garnett (Liberia)

Morocco won 4–0 on aggregate and awarded as a 3–0 after Botswana did not appear for the second leg due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[16]

1 March 2020

15:00 UTC+3

Tanzania	2–1	Uganda
Masaka 28', 88'	Report (Soccerway)	Najjemba 6'

National Stadium, Dar es Salaam

Referee: Ema Novo (Mozambique)

14 March 2020

16:00 UTC+3

Uganda	5–0	Tanzania
Kunihira 43' Najjemba 74' Aluka 77' Nalukenge 87', 90+2'	Report (Soccerway)

Startimes Stadium, Kampala

Attendance: 7,000

Uganda won 6–2 on aggregate.

1 March 2020

13:00 UTC±0

São Tomé and Príncipe	0–4	Cameroon
	Report (Soccerway)	Wabeua 14', 44' Tabé 45' Michelle 70'

Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho, São Tomé

14 March 2020

15:30 UTC+1

Cameroon	6–0	São Tomé and Príncipe
Tabé 27', 45' Mbiandji 35' Ndome 47' Bihina 68' (pen.) Luma 76'	Report (Soccerway)

Stade de Ngoa-Ekellé, Yaoundé

Referee: Anaelle Omanda (Gabon)

Cameroon won 10–0 on aggregate.

1 March 2020

16:00 UTC±0

Liberia	0–2	Ghana
	Report (Soccerway)	Amponsah 63' Abdulai 87'

Antoinette Tubman Stadium, Monrovia

Referee: Fatou Thioune (Senegal)

14 March 2020

15:00 UTC±0

Ghana	8–0	Liberia
Amponsah 2', 3', 12', 14' Abdulai 4' Oppong 27' Sarpong 64' (pen.) Twum 66'	Report (Soccerway)

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Referee: Patience Madu (Nigeria)

Ghana won 10–0 on aggregate.

7 March 2020^{[note 1]}

16:30 UTC±0

Guinea	1–6	Nigeria
Dédé 81'	Report (Soccerway)	Kalu 3' Samuel 25', 85', 90+1' Imuran 38', 65'

Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry

14 March 2020

16:00 UTC+1

Nigeria	5–1	Guinea
Imuran 27' Lawal 33', 40' Dah-Zossu 86' Kalu 90'	Report (Soccerway)	Dédé 84' (pen.)

Agege Stadium, Lagos

Attendance: 4,000

Nigeria won 11–1 on aggregate.

Second round

Winners would have qualified for 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
South Africa	Match 15	Morocco	—	—
Uganda	Match 16	Cameroon	—	—
Ghana	Match 17	Nigeria	—	—

Goalscorers

There were 101 goals scored in 23 matches, for an average of 4.39 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Notes

^ Guinea's home match against Nigeria was postponed to 7 March 2020 due to a clash with the 2020 Guinean legislative election.^[17]

References

^ Ahmadu, Samuel (4 December 2019). "U17 Women's World Cup 2020: African qualifying tournament dates, fixtures released". Goal. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ "Bureau of the FIFA Council decisions on FIFA events". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 May 2020.
^ "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2020 and women's youth tournaments". FIFA.com. 17 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Cancelation of the FIFA U-17 & U-20 Women's World Cup -2020". Ghana Football Association. 21 December 2020.
^ "Draw 2022 U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers". CAF. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b "CAF draws lots for the Total Women AFCON 2020 and preliminaries for FIFA U-17 & U-20 Women's World Cup 2020". CAF. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Fixtures for the U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers" (PDF). CAF. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ "Draw Procedures for the U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers" (PDF). CAF. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ "African qualifiers FIFA U-17 WWC-2020" (PDF). CAF.
^ "Postponement of Interclubs semis & Women's qualifiers". CAF. 11 April 2020.
^ "Botswana in limbo as Caf confirms new African U17 and U20 Women's World Cup qualifiers schedule". goal.com. 10 July 2020.
^ "Caf postpones final 2021 African U17 Women's World Cup qualifiers". Goal.com. 19 October 2020.
^ "Namibia pulls out of World Cup Qualifier, hands Zambia victory on silver platter". FAZ. Lusaka Star. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ @leopard243 (11 January 2020). "Sauf un improbable retournement de situation nos Léopards U17 dames n'effectueront pas le déplacement à Sao Tomé et Principe pour le compte du premier tour des éliminatoires de la Coupe du Monde U17" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "RDC não se deslocou a São Tomé para jogo qualificável para CAN e Mundial Sub-17 em Futebol Feminino". STP-Press. 13 January 2020.
^ "Botswana : le gouvernement et la fédération de football en symbiose contre le Covid-19". afrik.com. 14 March 2020.
^ "U17 Women's World Cup Qualifier: Nigeria clash with Guinea postponed due to elections". Goal.com. 27 February 2020.

[GUI-18] Guinea's home match against Nigeria was postponed to 7 March 2020 due to a clash with the 2020 Guinean legislative election.^[17]

[1] Ahmadu, Samuel (4 December 2019). "U17 Women's World Cup 2020: African qualifying tournament dates, fixtures released". Goal. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

[2] "Bureau of the FIFA Council decisions on FIFA events". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 May 2020.

[3] "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2020 and women's youth tournaments". FIFA.com. 17 November 2020.

[cancelled-4] "Cancelation of the FIFA U-17 & U-20 Women's World Cup -2020". Ghana Football Association. 21 December 2020.

[5] "Draw 2022 U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers". CAF. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.

[Draw-6] "CAF draws lots for the Total Women AFCON 2020 and preliminaries for FIFA U-17 & U-20 Women's World Cup 2020". CAF. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

[Fixtures-7] "Fixtures for the U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers" (PDF). CAF. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

[DrawProcedures-8] "Draw Procedures for the U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers" (PDF). CAF. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

[9] "African qualifiers FIFA U-17 WWC-2020" (PDF). CAF.

[10] "Postponement of Interclubs semis & Women's qualifiers". CAF. 11 April 2020.

[11] "Botswana in limbo as Caf confirms new African U17 and U20 Women's World Cup qualifiers schedule". goal.com. 10 July 2020.

[12] "Caf postpones final 2021 African U17 Women's World Cup qualifiers". Goal.com. 19 October 2020.

[13] "Namibia pulls out of World Cup Qualifier, hands Zambia victory on silver platter". FAZ. Lusaka Star. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

[14] @leopard243 (11 January 2020). "Sauf un improbable retournement de situation nos Léopards U17 dames n'effectueront pas le déplacement à Sao Tomé et Principe pour le compte du premier tour des éliminatoires de la Coupe du Monde U17" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[15] "RDC não se deslocou a São Tomé para jogo qualificável para CAN e Mundial Sub-17 em Futebol Feminino". STP-Press. 13 January 2020.

[16] "Botswana : le gouvernement et la fédération de football en symbiose contre le Covid-19". afrik.com. 14 March 2020.

[17] "U17 Women's World Cup Qualifier: Nigeria clash with Guinea postponed due to elections". Goal.com. 27 February 2020.

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