1997 African Youth Championship
| بطولة 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 → | |
The African Youth Championship 1997 was held in Morocco. It also served as qualification for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.
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 |
Source:
Rules for classification: Group tiebreakers
Rules for classification: Group tiebreakers
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.