The African Youth Championship 1997 was held in Morocco. It also served as qualification for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.[citation needed]
Qualification
First round
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
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
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
Group A
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
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Morocco (H)
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Egypt
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Sudan
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
Group B
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
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Coast
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Africa
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Zambia
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mali
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 |
Knockout stage
Semifinals
| Ghana | 1 – 1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
| 3 – 4 | ||
| Morocco | 2 – 1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
Third place match
| Ivory Coast | 2 – 0 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
Final
| Morocco | 1 – 0 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 African Youth Championship |
|---|
 Morocco First title |
Qualification to World Youth Championship
The four best performing teams qualified for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.
You must be logged in to post a comment.