There is hope that Nigeria’s Flying Eagles could feature at the 2027 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations in Ghana after the West African Football Union, WAFU B formally appealed to the Confederation of African Football, CAF to consider granting the country an additional slot.
BSN Sports reports that WAFU B has written to CAF to make a case for the inclusion of the Flying Eagles in the next edition of the continental tournament.
This follows a decision reached by the four semi-finalists at the recently concluded WAFU B U-20 Championship in Yamoussoukro, Cote D’ivoire.
Before the matches, the four semi-finalists, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Niger Republic agreed to seek for an additional slot for the losing finalist to join the winners and host Ghana in the 2027 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations.
Burkina Faso beat Nigeria 4-1 in the final to pick the sole ticket while Ghana, who were eliminated from the group stage, qualified as hosts.
However, in its submission to CAF, WAFU B reportedly referenced the precedent set during the 2025 Unfer-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, when Tunisia was included in the tournament after changes to the hosting arrangement.
Tunisia had initially finished third in the UNAF regional qualifiers behind Egypt and Morocco. However, following Côte d’Ivoire’s withdrawal as the original host and Egypt subsequently taking over hosting duties, Tunisia was selected to participate in the tournament.
As a result, 13 teams competed at the 2025 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
WAFU B is now seeking a similar consideration for Nigeria.
The regional body is asking CAF to consider awarding WAFU B an additional qualification slot, which would allow Nigeria to join Ghana and Burkina Faso as representatives from the zone.
CAF is expected to review the request before making a final decision on Nigeria’s participation.