2015 African U-17 Championship

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) Victor Osimhen
(4 goals)

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.

Qualification
Main article: 2015 African U-17 Championship qualification

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

Player eligibility

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]

Qualified teams

Disqualified
  • 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]

Venues
Cities Venues Capacity
Niamey Stade Général Seyni Kountché 35,000
Stade Municipal 10,000

Match officials

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

Draw

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]

Squads
Main article: 2015 African U-17 Championship squads

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

Group stage

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.

Group A
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) Host.
Niger 0–2 Nigeria
Report Osimhen  17'
Nwakali  28'
Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)
Guinea 1–0 Zambia
A. Touré  25' Report
Referee: Ali Mohamed Adelaïd (Comoros)
Nigeria 1–1 Guinea
Nwakali  85' (pen.) Report Diallo  14' (pen.)
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
Zambia 2–1 Niger
Daka  6'
Museba  17'		 Report Gonda  66'
Referee: Joaquin Esono Eyang (Equatorial Guinea)
Niger 2–1 Guinea
Boubabcar  3'
Lara  40'		 Report Bangoura  28'
Referee: Antoine Effa Essouma (Cameroon)
Nigeria 3–1 Zambia
Osimhen  36', 48'
Nwakali  45+1'		 Report Daka  61'
Stade Municipal, Niamey
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Group B
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
Source: CAF
Ivory Coast 2–2 South Africa
Kouao  75'
Doumbia  83'		 Report Mbatha  37'
Mayo  61'
Stade Municipal, Niamey
Referee: Denis Batte (Uganda)
Mali 3–1 Cameroon
Sangaré  49'
Koita  79'
B. Traoré  89'		 Report Hongla  62'
Stade Municipal, Niamey
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)
South Africa 2–2 Mali
Mkatshana  74'
Mohamme  81'		 Report Maiga  18'
B. Traoré  60'
Stade Municipal, Niamey
Referee: Kokou Fagla (Togo)
Cameroon 1–2 Ivory Coast
Bayemi  3' Report Kouadio  79'
Doumbia  85' (pen.)
Stade Municipal, Niamey
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)
Ivory Coast 0–1 Mali
Report B. Traoré  35'
Stade Municipal, Niamey
Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)
South Africa 3–1 Cameroon
Achille  3' (o.g.)
Maluleke  45' (pen.), 58'		 Report Bayemi  49'
Referee: Ferdinand Udoh Aniete (Nigeria)

Knockout stage

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

Semi-finals
Nigeria 0–1 South Africa
Report Mayo  27'
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)
Mali 2–1 Guinea
Koita  25'
Malle  53'		 Report A. Touré  51'
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Third place match
Nigeria 1–3 Guinea
Osimhen  30' Report A. Touré  35'
Keita  40', 53'
Referee: Gomno Daouda (Niger)

Final
South Africa 0–2 Mali
Report Bagayoko  67'
Malle  79'
Referee: Noureddine El Jaafari (Morocco)

Goalscorers
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal
  • Fokem Achille (against South Africa)

See also

References
  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. "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.
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