Sports

U17 Lions stumble in friendly, intensify AFCON preps.

by Guest writer
07 May 2026 16:41
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Cameroonian players (right) in action during friendly

The men’s under-17 national football team of Cameroon suffered a 3-1 defeat to their counterparts of Tanzania during a friendly match.
The encounter against their East African rivals is part of the team’s preparation for the U17 African Cup of Nations, AFCON.

The fixture took place on Tuesday March 5 in Casablanca, Morocco.

During the match, the U17 Lions showed great endeavors in the friendly but fell short due to lapses in concentration and costly mistakes.

Despite the defeat, the team has drawn positives from the performance and is ready to learn from those errors when the tournament gets underway this month.

The Tanzania friendly, it should be recalled, was the first for the Cameroon U17 national team since their arrival in Morocco.

According to reports, the U17 Lions arrived on Sunday, May 3, at about 11:00pm via the Casablanca International Airport.

Before arriving in Morocco, the team boosted their morale and developed winning strategies at a training camp in Yaounde, Centre Region.

During the camp, the team took part in two evaluation test matches at the Yaounde Military Stadium and greatly impressed with the quality of play, techniques and goals.

In the first game, the U17 men’s national team thrashed Mintack FC 5-1 in a largely one-sided encounter. In the second game, they narrowly edged Timo Sport Academy 2-1 to seal a second win.

Cameroon U17 Lions team arrived a little over a week to the start of the competition in the North African nation. They will continue to sharpen their claws ahead of their group opener on May 14.

Cameroon U17 squad is drawn in group B. They shall begin their campaign against Cote d’Ivoire.

They will also face Uganda and bordered neighbors the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC in their penultimate and final group matches on May 16 and 19 respectively.

Cameroon U17 Lions will be making their ninth appearance at the AFCON and the fifth participation in a row.

During that time, they have won the title twice. The first in 2003 and the most recent in 2019. They are looking forward to reclaiming the coveted title at the end of the 2026 edition.

The 2026 U17 AFCON will take place in Morocco from May 13-June 2. The 16-team biennial youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, CAF for players aged 17 and below, serves as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.

The top 10 teams from the tournament will qualify for the global showpiece scheduled to take place in November.

By Sharron Ewoukem, Journalism student

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3782 of Thursday May 07, 2026