FIFA U-17 W’Cup: Flamingos receive bye into second round  for Morocco 2026

Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, will not feature in the first round of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup African qualifiers after receiving a bye, according to the draw released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The draw for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 African Qualifiers was conducted on Saturday in Rabat, officially signalling the start of the qualifying campaign across the continent.

The exercise was conducted by draw assistant Jacqueline Shipanga, Technical Director of the Namibia Football Federation, CAF Elite Instructor and former coach of the Namibia Women’s National Team.

A total of 31 African teams will contest the qualifiers, which will be played over three knockout rounds using a home-and-away format. At the conclusion of the third round, four teams will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Morocco.

First-round matches are scheduled for April 10–12, with return legs on April 17–19, 2026. Fixtures include Niger vs. Guinea, Burkina Faso vs. Benin, Sierra Leone vs. Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia vs. Senegal, Algeria vs. Cameroon, and Togo vs. Ghana.

Nigeria will join the competition in the second round, where the Flamingos will face the winner of the tie between Niger and Guinea. The second-round matches are slated for May 22–24 and May 29–31, 2026.

Should the Flamingos progress beyond the second round, they could face Burkina Faso, Benin, Sierra Leone or Côte d’Ivoire in the third and final qualifying round, scheduled for July 3–5 and July 10–12, 2026, as they bid to return to the global stage.