Sierra Leone to compete with eight others for a spot in the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Tanzania.
The West African Football Union, (WAFU) Zone A U17 Afcon qualifiers scheduled from the 9 to 18 September in Senegal.
Each of the six Zonal Unions (CECAFA, COSAFA, UNAF, UNIFFAC, WAFU A, and WAFU B) will organise their own qualifiers.
Each zonal winner will qualify for the final tournament, with the exemption of zone A of the previous winner, with two slots. Since Mali won the title in 2017.
The African football body, CAF says the new format is expected to increase participation at the level of teams in the qualifiers, enhanced exposure and competitiveness by getting all involved. Since 1995, an average of 30 teams engaged in the qualifiers, representing about 54 per cent of the CAF membership.
The decision, one of the key elements among the resolutions of the first ever CAF African Football Symposium in July 2017 in Rabat (Morocco), was approved by the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations will hold from the 12th to the 26th of May 2019. Mali are the defending champions of the tournament.
Meanwhile, selected players from each country for the tournament must undergo mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to determine their eligibility to participate.
The Dates and Hosts of the Zonal Qualifiers U17 AFCON, TANZANIA 2019
WAFU A: Host country: Senegal
Participating teams: (9): Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone
Date: 9 to 18 September 2018
WAFU B: Host country: Niger
Participating teams (7): Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin
Date: 2 to 15 September 2018
COSAFA:
Host Country: Mauritius
Participating teams (12): Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Date: 19 to 29 July 2018
UNIFFAC:
Host Country: Equatorial Guinea
Participating teams (8): Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Guinea Equatorial, Gabon, RD Congo, Sao Tome, and Chad.
Date: 3 to 12 August 2018
CECAFA:
Host country: Tanzania
Participating teams (10): Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti
Date: 11 to 26 August 2018.
UNAF:
Host Country: Tunisia
Participating teams (4): Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya
Date: 20 to 28 August 2018
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