The 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will officially get underway today in Morocco with 24 teams competing for the coveted title.
The 9th edition is the first that will be held in Africa and also feature 24 teams, expanding from 16. With the tournament slated to be hosted annually, Morocco will also host it for the next five years.
Africa will be represented by five teams, including hosts Morocco, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon and Zambia.
The target for Africa this time round is to break the barrier of not winning the title since its inception.
The best performance by African teams came in 2012 and 2022 when Ghana and Nigeria claimed bronze, respectively.
Hosts Morocco will open Africa’s quest on Friday when they face Brazil at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Olympic Annex Stadium, Rabat.
The two teams also faced off at the 2022 edition in India, with Brazil winning the Group A game 1-0.
Morocco is aiming to become the first host nation to make it through to the knockout rounds, with all eight of the previous hosts (New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, Jordan, Uruguay, India and the Dominican Republic) having exited at the group stage.
Cameroon will take on the Netherlands on Saturday, Nigeria will face Canada, the Ivory Coast will be up against South Korea, while Zambia will play Paraguay on Sunday.