CAF U-17 2020 Qualifiers

Two teams who'll surely see each other a lot in future, the east African neighbours.

Uganda captain Juliet Nalukenge came into this after winning the Cosafa 2019 golden boot. Last year she scored 5 times in one senior game in Cecafa.
However, Tanzania led 2-1 from the 1st leg.

Tanzania 2 - 1 Uganda, 2nd round 1st leg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7R0HAKiAOU


We interrupt this vuvuzela for a national anthem

Uganda vs Tanzania full match, 2nd round 2nd leg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdrzgXwQ5aU&t=34m


Match reports: 1st leg, Goal.com (Archive)

2nd leg, NewVision (Archive)​

But... did they break the rules and choose any over-age players?! Uganda deny the accusation from Tanzania's manager. TO BE CONTINUED (maybe?) ...

https://www.goal.com/en/news/u17-wo...ge-players-against/1cla0iri18zm41vmvgvjvcbx41 (Archive)

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Some more info on the first two rounds - it's had a lot more teams and completed matches than 2018...

India 2020: African U17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers - http://www.jwsports1.com/india-2020-african-u-17-womens-world-cup-qualifiers/ (Archive)

These were the games for West Africa's U17s:

Guinea's young XI entered a WWC qualifier for the first time since 2008, and roared out of the blocks with a 5-0 derby win over Guinea-Bissau (goals: Fatoumata Dédé Diallo 30′, 81′, Fatoumata Yaya Samoura 52′, Nana Camara 61, 63′), at the stadium "28 Septembre".

In the 2nd leg, Guinea were held to a 3-3 draw in Bissau at the almost-identical stadium "24 de Setembro".

(Helena Maria Pestana, cc-by-sa)​

Former World Cup quarterfinalists Nigeria U17s were the next test for Guinea, in round 1. The reporters let the animal metaphors run free as a bird

The new interim coach is the manager of the NWPL's Dream Stars, Bankole Olowookere. The 1st leg was delayed, not by coronavirus but by a scheduled election in Guinea. A week later, Nigeria got a comfortable win with a hat-trick by Yemisi Samuel, 6-1 away, and 5-1 at home despite a red card.

The other west African prelim tie was two debuting teams, Liberia and Niger U17s. An age ago, Liberia entered in 2008 without playing a match. Fittingly as part of their women's football comeback in 2019/20, they hosted the 1st leg in Monrovia.

Liberia 4 - 0 Niger - (Mamie Kallon 13', Blessing Kieh 29'p, 75', 84'p)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2PvdyOyJ0Y

Like her senior namesake Angeline Kieh, Blessing Kieh has gained recognition in Liberian soccer, and Blessing also had team success at the 2019 USA Cup at school level. In the 2nd leg, she added another goal and Kallon scored twice in a 5-0 win for Liberia. Despite the big loss, the head of Nigerien football encouraged the team, and his name's Colonel Major Pelé so that's got to be a good sign.

Liberia's prize was a Round 1 clash hosting Ghana, Africa's strongest country at this level.

At home the Liberians kept it goalless for an hour in the 2-0 loss in the 1st leg (Ophelia Amponsah 63', Salamatu Abdulai 87'), but Amponsah added four goals in the 2nd-leg rout in Accra:




(we may need Major Pelé to make a motivational speech)

 

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Was it right to forfeit a game because of the coronavirus risk?

Yes, CAF has decided - so, Botswana are back in the competition.

Their tournament began Botswana 5, Zimbabwe 0 in the qualifying round. Botswana won the 2nd leg 2-0 away in Bulawayo. As you said, @toad455, the confederation tries to pair countries that are nearer, so the distance between the next round's opponents was unusual: Morocco and Botswana.

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The North Africans' visit in Feb went as planned, a Morocco win and an away goal for Salma Tammar (23'). When Botswana failed to travel for the return leg on 14 March, it seemed to be over, but it wasn't their choice, as the Botswanan government had banned travel, and even announced the trip's cancellation itself, from youth minister Tumiso Rakgare.

There are few direct flights, but Botswana's cancelled trip would have sent the young team via 2 stopovers - in South Africa and Qatar, said BFA boss Mfolo - almost like a round-the-world trip.
If you're wondering why the BFA would send its team via Qatar for no reason, oh, I've no idea. Maybe the former boss gets frequent flyer miles.

So, the 2nd leg in Morocco is still to play:
"CAF Reinstate Botswana Into The U17 WWCQ" - ZoneFoot (Archive)

Morocco had opened with a pair of 7-0 wins over Djibouti in the qualifier - a total of 4 goals by Kaoula Knia, and 3 each by Hajar Errakas and Hajar Jbilou.

Cameroon's round 1 win, 4-0 away and 6-0 home v Sao Tomé & Principe, sets up a good playoff match - the 2-time World Cup team Cameroon, versus a promising Uganda side. Unhappily in the prelims, DR Congo withdrew their teams from both this tournament and the U20.

This is the first Sao Tomé international women's team for over 14 years, and the first at U17 level. After their young team played in Cameroon on 14 March, they were stuck there for a week, under Covid travel restrictions, and couldn't return home until 21 March.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=833092440526522

⬤ In other news, Cosafa was planning its second U17 women's championship for 8 southern African teams. The island nation of Mauritius has become the home of U17 tournaments, including the 2019 women's, and Mauritius would've also hosted in April 2020 - of course that's postponed now.
https://botswanaunplugged.com/15542/cosafa-womens-u17-championship-to-draws-8-nations/ (Archive)

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Update: Unclear info on the Morocco-Botswana 2nd leg - CAF's new fixture list appears to ignore it. www.goal.com/en/news/botswana-in-limbo-as-caf-confirms-new-african-u17-and-u20-womens-/1lgt03l4pi5iwz3pyztmoutkk

The final round is rescheduled from 30 October 2020 (World Cup in India is delayed to 2021)
https://www.kick442.com/caf-confirms-new-dates-for-fifa-u-17-womens-world-cup-qualifiers/

 

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Uganda have never reached this stage in past qualifiers, while opponent Cameroon went to the last two U17 World Cups.
Juliet Nalukenge will be a key player, assuming she can participate, and her senior wins made her Ugandan women's player of the year:
Nalukenge, Uganda's 17-year old jewel
https://www.cafonline.com/news-center/news/nalukenge-the-face-of-uganda-women-s-football

Ghana v Nigeria is a fixture to look forward to in the final knockout, and the Ghanaian team heard the announcement yesterday, special permission from the government to resume training.
Happy news for the Ghana coach Baba Nuhu and captain Basira Alhassan - but now the real work begins, after living in lockdown:

Nuhu reacts to beating coronavirus hurdle ahead of Nigeria clash - https://www.goal.com/en/news/ghana-...-coronavirus-hurdle-/5xa3ajfjbx314vvas49bxolr

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Postponed, again – this time, indefinitely.
https://www.myjoyonline.com/sports/...orld-cup-qualifying-matches-not-yet-confirmed (Archive)

The Indian hosting of the World Cup finals is doomed, according to some reports in Ghanaian media in recent days, which might spell the end for the whole tournament. Ghana's Black Maidens and the U20s (Black Princesses) have been in training camp in Cape Coast recently.


⬤ COSAFA: In the southern nations, there is some surprising news...
(By the way, my tip on some Phrases To Avoid just now: "Football fever"; "Disco fever"; any kind of fever, really)
"COSAFA remains optimistic of hosting four of its six scheduled tournaments in 2020, a year that has seen the football calendar severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The organisation has been working feverishly behind the scenes to prepare for its events but remains reliant on the green light from governments across the region." - (Cosafa.com)

The upshot is that the Cosafa Women's Championship and U-17 Cup are scheduled to happen together soon in South Africa, in early November, and no sign of cancellation yet.
Zimbabwe says it's sending its players, but as Sikhumbuzo Moyo writes, this raises all kinds of questions:
https://www.chronicle.co.zw/cosafa-in-shock-womens-championship-tourney-despite-football-inactivity/

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