The Zambia U17 National Team will kick off their TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 on Monday.
Zambia is placed in Group A alongside Tanzania, Uganda, and hosts Morocco, with the top ten teams from the tournament earning automatic qualification to the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.
Ian Bakala’s Boys will face Tanzania in the opener at 16h00 at the El Bachir Stadium in Mohammedia.
Zambia has never made it past the group stage at the continental youth showpiece and they will be looking to change this .
Bakala will look to Abel Salim Nyirongo and Robert ‘Sugar Sugar’s Banda for goals as the duo continues to grow from strength to strength.
The two Atletico Lusaka forwards combined for one of the goals in the final as Zambia claimed gold at the tournament.
Nyirongo scored seven goals at the regional showpiece and went on to clinch the golden boot.
Banda who is a Sporting Lusaka product provided the winner in the semifinals and set up three goals in the competition.
The duo seem to have now built an off the pitch relationship which could help them on the pitch as Zambia looks to do well at the competition.
Apart from Nyirongo and Banda, Bakala can bank on captain, Jonathan Kalimina, play maker Mapalo Simute, the smooth Criminal and James Nene Sibeene.
The TotalEnergies U17 AFCON will mark the 15th edition of the U17 AFCON and, for the first time, has been expanded from 12 to 16 teams.
It also serves as a qualification pathway to the FIFA U17 World Cup set for November 2025 with the top 10 African nations securing a spot on the global stage.
Monday 31st March 2025 – 16h00 Tanzania vs Zambia
Thursday 3rd April 2025- 22h00 Zambia Vs Morocco
Sunday, 6th April, 2025 – 21h00 Zambia vs Uganda
