Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, will face either Niger or Guinea in the second round of the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026, www.aclsports.com reports.
Following the official draw conducted by CAF on Saturday in Rabat, the pairing was confirmed. The 2022 bronze medallists will begin their qualification campaign against the winner of the first-round encounter between Niger and Guinea.
The first leg of the tie is scheduled to take place between 22 and 24 May 2026, with the return leg holding from 29 to 31 May. Niger and Guinea will meet in April to determine who advances to face the Flamingos.
CAF’s qualification format features three knockout rounds played over two legs, with the four teams that progress from the final round earning Africa’s tickets to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026. Thirty teams will contest the opening round, with Nigeria receiving a bye into the second round as the highest-ranked team.
Should the Flamingos progress, they will advance to the third and final round, where they are set to face the winner of the second-round tie involving Burkina Faso or Benin and Sierra Leone or Côte d’Ivoire. That decisive round is scheduled for July 2026, with first-leg matches holding between 3 and 5 July, and the return fixtures between 10 and 12 July.
Coach Bankole Olowookere’s side will be aiming to qualify for the World Cup and then do better than in 2025, when they were knocked out 4–0 in the Round of 16 by Italy.
