NIGERIA’S U-20 National male football team, the Flying Eagles, have been pooled in a tough group in the 2024 WAFU B Championship.
Nigeria are in Group B alongside Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire in the championship that is used as qualifiers for the 2025 CAF U-20 AFCON.
Nigeria’s outing in all-male age group competitions in the last ten years has been very shambolic and woeful.
The country has been unable to reach the finals of any major competition except the 2023 African Games, and they were very lethargic and uninspiring throughout the tournament, won by Ghana at the expense of Uganda.
Nigeria will take on Burkina Faso on the 17th of October on Match Day 1 before meeting Cote D’Ivoire on the 23rd on Match Day 3.
Another country that has been punching below its weight in recent years in youth football, Ghana has been drawn in Group A with host Togo, Benin Republic and Niger Republic for the upcoming U-20 Africa Cup of Nations WAFU B qualifiers scheduled for next month.
The draw for the qualifiers was done on Thursday, 26 September in Cote d’Ivoire as the Black Satellites hope to play in the 2025 U-20 AFCON.
The WAFU B qualifiers will be staged in Togo next month.
Ghana has not been in the competition since last winning it in 2021 under Karim Zito. The team failed to make the last edition which was won by Senegal in 2023.
The four-time champions will be aiming to make a return to the continental stage at that level with the competition also serving as qualifiers for the 2025 FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup.
The Black Satellites, earlier this year, beat Uganda to win gold at the 2023 African Games which was held in Ghana.
The competition will take place in Togo from 17 to 31 October 2024.
Eighteen-Eleven Media