Golden Eaglets await WAFU B U-17 Championship draw in Ouagadougou

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will discover their group-stage opponents for the 2026 WAFU B U-17 Championship on Thursday, when the tournament draw is held in Burkina Faso.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Stade du 04 Aout in Ouagadougou. The event will determine the initial groups for the regional Under-17 competition, which will be used to decide the teams’ route through the tournament.

The same venue will also host the draw for the second edition of the WAFU B U-17 Girls’ Cup on Thursday.

Seven countries are set to compete in the women’s tournament. They are Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, hosts Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger Republic.

Nigeria’s participation in both draws comes as the Golden Eaglets continue their preparations for the men’s competition. The squad is currently based in Abuja, where preparations have been intensified ahead of the tournament.

Eboboritse Uwejamomere’s team played two friendly matches last weekend as part of its build-up programme. The Golden Eaglets faced Simonben Academy of Kaduna and Galadima FC in those fixtures.

Those matches formed part of the side’s preparations for a competition that carries additional importance beyond the regional title. The WAFU B U-17 Championship will serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2027 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

Burkina Faso will host the championship from 4 to 17 October 2026. The Golden Eaglets will learn the identity of their group opponents when the draw is conducted on Thursday, with the ceremony bringing greater clarity to their schedule for the competition.

The draw will therefore mark an important stage in Nigeria’s preparations, while the team continues its work in Abuja under Uwejamomere. The friendly games against Simonben Academy of Kaduna and Galadima FC have provided the squad with further match preparation before the tournament begins.

The WAFU B U-17 Championship will bring together the participating teams for the regional qualification campaign, with the competition in Burkina Faso also providing the route towards the 2027 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

Attention will also be focused on the girls’ tournament, whose draw will be staged at the Stade du 04 Aout on the same day. Nigeria are among the seven participating nations, alongside Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger Republic.

For the Golden Eaglets, Thursday’s ceremony will establish their group-stage challenge before they travel to the competition hosted in Burkina Faso in October 2026.