Libya withdrawal forces fresh changes to UNAF U17 qualifying tournament

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations U17 qualifying tournament for the North African zone will now be contested by four teams after Libya withdrew, prompting the Union nord-africaine de football (UNAF) to issue a revised schedule.

Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt will meet in Tunisia from 10 to 16 November, with three qualification places reportedly available for the continental finals. The opening match will see Algeria’s young Fennecs face Morocco’s Lionceaux de l’Atlas.

UNAF said on Tuesday that it had received a letter from the Federation libyenne de football confirming that Libya’s U17 side would be unable to take part in the qualifying tournament.

The decision represents the latest change to a competition whose format and dates were already altered in September. The tournament was originally scheduled for 26 September to 2 October, with Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya due to participate.

Morocco’s late inclusion led to the event being postponed until November and expanded to five teams. Libya’s withdrawal has now reduced the field back to four.

The round-robin format will remain in place, with each team playing the other three once. However, the tournament will now consist of three matchdays, and no side will receive a bye. The competition will therefore conclude on 16 November rather than run over a longer period.

UNAF has confirmed that the six matches will be staged in Sousse and Monastir. The first meeting between Algeria and Morocco will take place on 10 November.

The opening round, on Tuesday, 10 November, will be played entirely at the Olympic Stadium of Sousse. Algeria will face Morocco at 14:00, followed by Tunisia against Egypt at 17:00.

The second round will be held at the same venue on Friday, 13 November. Tunisia will meet Algeria at 14:00, before Egypt play Morocco at 17:00.

Both matches in the final round will kick off at 14:00 on Monday, 16 November. Tunisia will host Morocco at the Olympic Stadium of Sousse, while Algeria will take on Egypt at the Mustapha-Ben-Jannet Stadium in Monastir. All times are local to Tunisia, which shares the same time zone as Algeria.

According to La Gazette du Fennec, the four participating teams will compete for three qualifying places. That allocation would give the contenders some room for error during the mini-league.

Algeria will field its U16 generation under the management of Karim Ziani and will aim to secure qualification before the final round. Morocco will also take part despite being the host nation for the CAN U17 2027.

After two successive revisions to the tournament, the four teams will now turn their attention to the matches, with Algeria versus Morocco providing the opening fixture.