The draw for the group stage of the 2024 U17 WAFU Zone B Tournament has been concluded, with the seven participants split into two groups, Soccernet.ng reports.
In a draw ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ivorian Football Federation in Abidjan, hosts Ghana were placed in Group A, while defending champions Nigeria found themselves in Group B.
To battle for one of the two semifinal tickets in the group, Nigeria will face Burkina Faso, Togo, and Niger.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, led by coach Nduka Ugbade, defeated the Burkina Faso U17 national team 2-1 in the final in Ghana two years ago in the last edition of this tournament.
Two teams will make it out of Group A that only has Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Benin.
The 2024 WAFU B U17 tournament is scheduled to take place from the 15th to the 28th of May in Accra.
The regional tournament will serve as the qualifiers for the U-17 AFCON Tournament to be played in 2025.
In preparation for the tournament, the Nigeria Football Federation has appointed Manu Garba as the head coach of the Golden Eaglets.
Coach Garba has invited 51 players from academies and youth teams across the country and will pick the final squad after a screening exercise.
Nigeria are the most successful team in the world at the cadet level, having won the FIFA U17 World Cup a record five times.
The Golden Eaglets, however, failed to qualify for the last edition of the World Cup in Indonesia after losing to Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals of the U17 AFCON.