By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Nigeria’s U-17 and U-20 women’s football teams, Flamingos and Falconets have been drawn to face countries that the Super Eagles are also facing in the pre- World Cup 2026 qualification matches.
The Super Eagles are locked in the same World Cup qualifying group with South Africa, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, the three teams that the Flamingos and Falconets will respectively face in the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup African qualifiers which will start in early January 2025.
Following the draws made in Cairo, Egypt on Thursday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Nigeria will begin the journey from the second round where the Flamingos will face the winners of the first-round match involving Gabon and South Africa.
For the U-17 World Cup qualifying series in which four teams are expected to qualify, there are 28 entries.
The four successful teams in the qualifiers will join Morocco, hosts, at the global showpiece set to take place between 17 October – 08 November 2025 in Morocco.
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will for the first time be contested by 24 nations following its expansion from 16 teams.
The African qualifiers will be played over three knockout rounds of home and away to determine the qualified nations.
The first leg round of qualifiers will be played between 10 – 12 January 2025 for the first round ahead of the first leg return fixtures between 17 – 19 January.
The second round of qualifiers which will have been narrowed down to 16 nations will take place between 07 – 09 March ahead of the return fixtures set to take place between 14 – 16 March 2025.
The qualifiers officially conclude in April 2025 when the third and final rounds take place for the eight remaining nations.
The third round first legs will take place between 18 – 20 April, with the final round of qualifiers to determine the qualified nations to be decided between 25 – 27 April 2025.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers Draw Results:
ROUND 1:
M1, 2: Namibia vs Uganda
M3, 4: Egypt vs CameroonM5, 6: Zimbabwe vs Ethiopia
M7, 8: Eswatini vs Tanzania
M9, 10: Congo vs Benin
M11, 12: DR Congo vs Niger
M13, 14: Gabon vs South Africa
M15, 16: Equatorial Guinea vs Botswana
M17, 18: Tunisia vs Algeria
M19, 20: Cote d’Ivoire vs Senegal
M21, 22: Sierra Leone vs Central Africa Republic
M23, 24: Togo vs Guinea
ROUND 2:
M25, 26: Namibia x Uganda vs KenyaM27, 28: Egypt X Cameroon vs Zimbabwe x EthiopiaM29, 30: Eswatini x Tanzania vs ZambiaM31, 32: Congo x Benin vs DR Congo x NigerM33, 34: Gabon x South Africa vs NigeriaM35, 36: Equatorial Guinea x Botswana vs Tunisia x AlgeriaM37, 38: Cote d’Ivoire x Senegal vs BurundiM39, 40: Sierra Leone x Central Africa Republic vs Togo x Guinea
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ROUND 3:
M41, 42: Winner 25, 26 vs Winner 27, 28M43, 44: Winner 29, 30 vs Winner 31, 32M45, 46: Winner 33, 34 vs Winner 35, 36M47, 48: Winner 37, 38 vs Winner 39, 40
Meanwhile, in the U-20 category, Nigeria advanced to the second round where the Falconets are awaiting the winners of the Rwanda/Zimbabwe first-round clash.
This is even as the tournament scheduled for August 2026, will feature 24 nations, including four representatives from Africa.
A total of 38 African teams are vying for the four coveted slots, with the qualifiers set to unfold over four knockout rounds of home-and-away fixtures.
The first round will be contested by the 12 lowest-ranked teams, based on previous U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers performance.
The six winners will advance to join the 26 top-ranked teams exempted from the first round.
The six first-round winners and 26 exempted teams will form 32 teams. These will battle it out for 16 spots in the third round.
The remaining 16 teams in the third round will compete in a knockout format to determine the eight teams advancing to the fourth round which will comprise of eight teams.
The final eight teams will play knockout ties, with the winners earning qualification to the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup African Qualifiers Draw Results:
First Round:
M1, 2: Gabon vs NigerM3, 4: Togo vs TunisiaM5, 6: Gambia vs Côte d’IvoireM7, 8: Rwanda vs ZimbabweM9, 10: South Sudan vs DjiboutiM11, 12: Malawi vs Central African Republic
Second Round:
M13, 14: Gabon/Niger vs Cameroon
M15, 16: Botswana vs Mozambique
M17, 18: Ethiopia vs Kenya
M19, 20: Tanzania vs Angola
M21, 22: Togo/Tunisia vs Ghana
M23, 24: Eswatini vs South Africa
M25, 26: Uganda vs NamibiaM27, 28: Burundi vs Zambia
M29, 30: Gambia/Côte d’Ivoire vs Morocco
M31, 32: Mali vs DR Congo
M33, 34: Equatorial Guinea vs Egypt
M35, 36: Benin vs Guinea
M37, 38: Rwanda/Zimbabwe vs Nigeria
M39, 40: Senegal vs Algeria
M41, 42: Guinea-Bissau vs Congo
M43, 44: South Sudan/Djibouti vs Malawi/Central African Republic
Third Round Fixtures:
M45, 46: Winner M13, M14 vs Winner M15, M16
M47, 48: Winner M17, M18 vs Winner M19, M20 M49, 50: Winner M21, M22 vs Winner M23, M24
M51, 52: Winner M25, M26 vs Winner M27, M28 M53, 54: Winner M29, M30 vs Winner M31, M32
M55, 56: Winner M33, M34 vs Winner M35, M36
M57, 58: Winner M37, M38 vs Winner M39, M40
M59, 60: Winner M41, M42 vs Winner M43, M44
*Fourth Round Fixtures:
M61, 62: Winner M45, M46 vs Winner M47, M48M63, 64: Winner M49, M50 vs Winner M51, M52M65, 66: Winner M53, M54 vs Winner M55, M56M67, 68: Winner M57, M58 vs Winner M59, M60
*Round-by-Round Timeline*
*First Round Matches: First leg: 9–11 May 2025 | Second leg: 16–18 May 2025.
*Second Round Matches: First leg: 19–21 September 2025 | Second leg: 26–28 September 2025.
*Third Round Matches: First leg: 6–8 February 2026 | Second leg: 12–14 February 2026.
*Fourth Round Matches: First leg: 1–3 May 2026 | Second leg: 8–10 May 2026.
