by Chidinma Kalu
The journey to the next FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (WWC) will commence on Thursday, December 12, in Cairo, where the draw for 38 African teams will be held.
Ultimately, only four of these teams will secure spots at the global tournament.
The qualifying series draw is scheduled for 14:30 Cairo Time (12:30 GMT) and will follow the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers draw.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026 will feature 24 nations, including four representatives from Africa.
In the 2024 edition hosted by Colombia, Africa was represented by Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria. Nigeria reached the Round of 16 before exiting the tournament, while Cameroon and Ghana bowed out during the group stage.
The African countries that will participate in the draw include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, and Gabon.
Others are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
