Football: Elephant Cubs arrive in Ouagadougou with ambitions of winning the U-17 AFCON

After several weeks of preparation, the Ivory Coast U-17 Elephant Cubs have arrived in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where the qualifying tournament for the 2027 U-17 AFCON in the WAFU-B zone will be held from 10 to 23 October 2026.

With the competition just days away, national team coach Serges Bougouyou has unveiled the list of players selected to represent Côte d’Ivoire. The squad is the result of several training camps during which the technical staff were able to observe and assess numerous young talents born in 2010.

The selected players come notably from Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and Division 3 clubs, as well as from regional and district competitions and the national U-17 championship held last season. This diversity of profiles reflects the staff’s desire to cast a wide net in order to build a competitive squad.

A squad put through medical examinations

Before definitively approving the list, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) also paid particular attention to the medical aspect. The selected players underwent the required MRI examinations, organised by the FIF in cooperation with the Abidjan Medical Imaging Centre (CIMA).

At the end of this process, all the players included on the final list were declared eligible to take part in the competition.

Now in Ouagadougou, the young Ivorian internationals are fully focused on their objective. Côte d’Ivoire are aiming to secure a third consecutive qualification for the final tournament of the U-17 AFCON.

The coming weeks will therefore be decisive for the Elephant Cubs, who will have to show determination and solidity to secure their qualifying ticket in a WAFU-B zone that is always fiercely contested.

Edited by: Charles Zahe

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Related teams and leagues

Ivory Coast U17

CAF U17 Cup of Nations