2015 African U-17 Championship


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The 2015 African U-17 Championship was the 11th edition of the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 17 and below. The tournament took place in Niamey, Niger, and was originally scheduled to be held between 2 and 16 May.[1] However, the date of the opening match was pushed forward to 15 February, with the tournament scheduled to conclude with the final on 1 March.[2]

2015 African U-17 Championship
Coupe d'Afrique des nations des moins de 17 ans 2015
Tournament details
Host country Niger
Dates15 February – 1 March
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Mali (1st title)
Runners-up South Africa
Third place Guinea
Fourth place Nigeria
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored45 (2.81 per match)
Top scorer(s)Nigeria Victor Osimhen
(4 goals)

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2017 →

The semi-finalists of the tournament qualified for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[3] Mali won the tournament, and were joined by South Africa, Guinea, and Nigeria as CAF qualifiers for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The qualifiers were played between June and September 2014. At the end of the qualification phase, seven teams joined the hosts Niger.

During CAF Executive Committee meetings held on 21 and 22 September 2013, the CAF Medical Committee was instructed to continue the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to determine the ages of players and consequently their eligibility to participate in the qualifying stages of the tournament. It was also directed to ensure the authenticity of the process as well as the identity of the players involved.[4]

  • Team Ghana was disqualified on 26 October, after medical test provided by the African Confederation after their first leg play off victory against Cameroon found that one of their players failed age eligibility confirmations. Ghana appealed but failed.[5]
Cities Venues Capacity
Niamey Stade Général Seyni Kountché 35,000
Stade Municipal 10,000

The referees were:[6]

Referees
  •   Mustapha Ghorbal
  •   Helder Martins de Carvalho
  •   Antoine Max Depadoux Effa Essouma
  •   Ali Mohamed Adelaid
  •   Lazard Tsiba Kamba
  •   Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo
  •   Joaquin Esono Eyang
  •   Noureddine El Jaafari
  •   Gomno Daouda
  •   Ferdinand Anietie Udoh
  •   Daouda Kebe
  •   Kokou Hougnimon Fagla
  •   Denis Batte
Assistant referees
  •   Babadjide Bienvenu Dina
  •   Soulaimane Amaldine
  •   Ahmed Hossam Taha
  •   Temesgin Samuel Atango
  •   Marius Donatien Tan
  •   Abdoulaye Sylla
  •   Gilbert Cheruiyot
  •   Souru Phatsoane
  •   Arsénio Chadreque Marengula
  •   Abdourahamane Diarra Soumana
  •   Ababacar Sene
  •   Serigne Cheikh Toure
  •   Hamza Hagi Abdi
  •   Mohammed Abdallah Ibrahim
  •   Majed Rhouma
  •   Tapfumanei Mutengwa

The draw for the final tournament was held on 21 December 2014, 11:00 UTC+02:00, at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[7] Niger and Ivory Coast were seeded and placed into Groups A and B respectively.[8]

Each team can register a squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers).[3]

The group winners and runners-up advanced to the semi-finals and qualified for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[9][10]

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[3]

  1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
  3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  4. Goal difference in all games;
  5. Goals scored in all games;
  6. Fair Play point system in which the number of yellow and red cards are evaluated;
  7. Drawing of lots.

All times UTC+01:00.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Nigeria 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7 Knockout stage and 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2   Guinea 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
3   Zambia 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4   Niger (H) 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3

Source: CAF
(H) Hosts

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Mali 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Knockout stage and 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup
2   South Africa 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 5
3   Ivory Coast 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4   Cameroon 3 0 0 3 3 8 −5 0

In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, kicks from the penalty mark are used to determine the winner (no extra time shall be played).[3]

Semi-finalsFinal
      
25 February
  Nigeria0
1 March
  South Africa1
  South Africa0
26 February
  Mali2
  Mali2
  Guinea1
Third place
1 March
  Nigeria1
  Guinea3
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal
  1. ^ "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee on hosting of Junior and Senior CAF Competitions". Confederation of African Football. 27 September 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  2. ^ "Gambia suspended from all competitions for two years". Confederation of African Football. 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  3. ^ a b c d "Regulations of the African U-17 Championship" (PDF). Cafonline.com.
  4. ^ "Confederation Africaine de Football Press Release" (PDF). CAF. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original (pdf) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Appeal Board upheld disqualification of Ghana U-17 team". CAF. 27 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Referees". CAFOnline.com. February 8, 2015.
  7. ^ "U-17 & U-20 draw set for Dec. 21". CAF. 15 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Hosts Niger draw neighbours Nigeria in opener". CAF. 21 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Fixtures of the Final Tournament of the 11th African U17 Championship, Niger 2015" (PDF). CAF.
  10. ^ "Organising Committee adjusts Niger 2015 kick-off times". CAF. 15 February 2015.