Nigeria, Egypt and Senegal seeded: Flying Eagles await fate as CAF orders new U20 AFCON draw

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will learn their new group stage opponents for the 2025 TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, April 13, Soccernet.ng reports.

This development comes after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed a fresh draw would be conducted following a change in tournament host.

CAF had previously staged the official draw on February 13 in Cairo, placing Nigeria in Group B alongside Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.

However, the Ivorian Football Federation unexpectedly pulled out of hosting duties on March 26, prompting CAF to relocate the tournament to Egypt and nullify the original draw.

In a statement on CAF’s official website, all qualified nations have been informed of the rescheduled draw, set for 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Sunday at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters. The draw will be broadcast live on ON Time Sports and CAF TV.

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Due to the host change, CAF’s Executive Committee also reviewed the qualification process, awarding additional slots to second and third-placed teams from the UNAF region. Congo’s suspension has also led to their replacement by the Central African Republic, who were the last team they defeated in the qualifiers.

In accordance with CAF regulations, host nation Egypt will now automatically be placed in position A1, with Nigeria in B1 and reigning champions Senegal in C1. The draw format will divide the 13 participating nations into three groups — Group A (five teams), Groups B and C (four teams each). The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed sides, will progress to the quarter-finals.

Teams that qualified for the previous tournament — Tunisia, Zambia, and Central African Republic — will be in Pot 1.

Nations that did not qualify last time, including Morocco, debutants Sierra Leone, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, and DR Congo, will be placed in Pot 2.

The 2025 U20 AFCON will run from April 27 to May 18 in Egypt.