1997 African Youth Championship

1997 African Youth Championshipبطولة أفريقيا لكرة القدم للشباب 1997

Tournament details
Host country|  Morocco
Dates| 23 March – 5 April
Teams| 8
Final positions
Champions|  Morocco (1st title)
Runners-up|  South Africa
Third place|  Ivory Coast
Fourth place|  Ghana

<- 1995

1999 ->

International football competition

The African Youth Championship 1997 was held in Morocco. It also served as qualification for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.[citation needed]

## Qualification

[edit]

### First round

[edit]

First round matches took place on 28-29 September and 19-20 October 1996. Togo and Malawi withdrew and Burundi was suspended by CAF following a coup d'état.

Team 1  |  Score | Team 2

|
|

Algeria | 0-2  |  Tunisia
Mali | 3-0  |  Mauritania
Burkina Faso | 0-0  |  Guinea
Ghana | 2-0  |  Senegal
Nigeria | 5-1  |  Chad
Sudan | 2-0  |  Kenya
Benin | 0-1  |  Ivory Coast
Egypt | 5-0  |  Ethiopia
Réunion | 0-2  |  Zimbabwe
South Africa | 2-0  |  Mauritius
Angola | 3-1  |  Botswana
Tanzania | w/o |  Burundi
Cameroon | w/o |  Togo
Zambia | w/o |  Malawi
Tunisia | 1-3 (3-3 agg.)  |  Algeria
Guinea | 1-1 (1-1 agg.)  |  Burkina Faso
Senegal | 2-3 (2-5 agg.)  |  Ghana
Chad | 2-1 (3-6 agg.)  |  Nigeria
Kenya | 1-0 (1-2 agg.)  |  Sudan
Ethiopia | 5-0 (5-5 agg., 1-2 p)  |  Egypt
Zimbabwe | 5-0 (7-0 agg.)  |  Réunion
Mauritius | 1-3 (1-5 agg.)  |  South Africa
Botswana | 1-2 (2-5 agg.)  |  Angola

### Second round

[edit]

Round two matches took place on 21-22 December 1996 and 3-5 January 1997.

Team 1  |  Score | Team 2

|
|

Mali | 3-2  |  Algeria
Nigeria | 2-1  |  Sudan
Ivory Coast | 5-3  |  Cameroon
Burkina Faso | 1-1  |  Ghana
Egypt | 2-1  |  Zimbabwe
South Africa | 3-0  |  Tanzania
Zambia | 1-0  |  Angola
Algeria |  |  Mali
Sudan |  |  Nigeria
Cameroon |  |  Ivory Coast
Ghana |  |  Burkina Faso
Zimbabwe |  |  Egypt
Tanzania | 0-1 (0-4 agg.)  |  South Africa
Angola | 0-1 (0-2 agg.)  |  Zambia

## Teams

[edit]

Last year's finalists Burundi were disqualified in the qualifying tournament. Eight teams entered the tournament:

* Ivory Coast
* Egypt
* Ghana
* Mali
* Morocco (host)
* South Africa
* Sudan
* Zambia

## Group stage

[edit]

### Group A

[edit]

Group A matches took place on 23, 25 and 27 March 1997.

Team 1  |  Score | Team 2

|
|

Morocco | 0-0  |  Egypt
Sudan | 0-4  |  Ghana
Egypt | 0-1  |  Ghana
Morocco | 2-0  |  Sudan
Egypt | 2-1  |  Sudan
Morocco | 0-1  |  Ghana
Teams  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | GF  | GA  | GD  | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Ghana | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9
Morocco | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4
Egypt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4
Sudan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | –7 | 0

### Group B

[edit]

Group B matches took place on 24, 26 and 28 March 1997.

Team 1  |  Score | Team 2

|
|

Mali | 2-2  |  Zambia
South Africa | 0-1  |  Ivory Coast
Zambia | 1-1  |  Ivory Coast
Mali | 1-2  |  South Africa
South Africa | 2-1  |  Zambia
Ivory Coast | 4-1  |  Mali
Teams  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | GF  | GA  | GD  | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Ivory Coast | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7
South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6
Zambia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –1 | 2
Mali | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | –4 | 1

## Semifinals

[edit]

2 April 1997 (1997-04-02)

Ghana | 1 – 1|  South Africa

|
|

|  |
Penalties
| 3 – 4 |

Fès

2 April 1997 (1997-04-02)

Morocco | 2 – 1|  Ivory Coast

|
|

|  |

Fès

## Third place match

[edit]

5 April 1997 (1997-04-05)

Ivory Coast | 2 – 0|  Ghana

|
|

|  |

Meknès

## Final

[edit]

5 April 1997 (1997-04-05)

Morocco | 1 – 0|  South Africa

|
|

|  |

Meknès

1997 African Youth Championship

Morocco
First title

## Qualification to World Youth Championship

[edit]

The four best performing teams qualified for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

* Ivory Coast
* Ghana
* Morocco
* South Africa

## References

[edit]

## External links

[edit]

* Results by RSSSF

* v
* t
* e

African Youth Championship, African U-20 Championship and U-20 Africa Cup of Nations

African Qualification Tournament|

* 1979
* 1981
* 1983
* 1985
* 1987
* 1989

African Youth Championship|

| Tournaments|

* Egypt 1991
* Mauritius 1993
* Nigeria 1995
* Morocco 1997
* Ghana 1999
* Ethiopia 2001
* Burkina Faso 2003
* Benin 2005
* Congo 2007
* Rwanda 2009

|

Qualification|

* 1991
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Squads|

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African U-20 Championship|

| Editions|

* South Africa 2011
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|

Qualification|

* 2011
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Squads|

* 2011
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U-20 Africa Cup of Nations|

| Editions|

* Zambia 2017
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* 2025

|

Qualification|

* 2017
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Squads|

* 2017
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Finals|

* 2023

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