Nigeria coach Manu Garba slams CAF over limited U-17 AFCON slots

Nigeria U-17 head coach Manu Garba has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over its allocation of slots for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), following the Golden Eaglets’ failure to qualify for the 2026 tournament.

Nigeria’s hopes were dashed after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Ghana in the semi-final of the WAFU B U-17 Championship in Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

The result confirmed their absence from both the 2026 U-17 AFCON and the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be staged annually from next year.

This is the second straight cycle Nigeria has missed out, after also failing to qualify for the 2024 edition.

Garba, who led Nigeria to the FIFA U-17 World Cup triumph in 2013, questioned CAF’s slot distribution, insisting that the West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone B deserves more representation.

“When they started the WAFU B competition in the Niger Republic, we had seven countries and one country would qualify,” he said.

“I was the one who raised an observation that WAFU B is the strongest zone in Africa. So, Africa needs good representation, and that is why they gave us two slots.

“I am still complaining that it is wrong. Nigeria is still rated number one in the world at the FIFA U-17 level. How can CAF give us just two slots?

"The last time in Ghana, there was one more slot, but unfortunately, CAF didn’t give the third slot to this zone; they gave it to WAFU A. I think it’s very unfair to a zone like the WAFU B. In youth football, we are the strongest in Africa, and we should get at least three slots.”

Garba, who also worked with Nigeria’s 2007 World Cup-winning side, urged CAF to make changes.

“I am a World Cup winner, I won in 2007 and 2013 in the UAE, so I know what it means.

"So, CAF must look at WAFU B and give us three slots, which will go a long way for Africa, too. This is my complaint to CAF,” he added.

Nigeria remains the most successful country in FIFA U-17 World Cup history with five titles (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015).

However, they last appeared at the tournament in 2019, exiting at the round of 16 against the Netherlands.

Under the current CAF qualification structure, WAFU A (eight members) has three slots, while WAFU B (seven members) has two.

North Africa (five members) and Central East Africa (10 members) also have three slots each.

For the 2026 U-17 AFCON, Ghana and the Ivory Coast will represent WAFU B.

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