The Kenyan U20 team has evaded tricky ties against West African sides in the revealed draw for the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations conducted this Thursday, February 13, 2025, in Cairo, Egypt.

The Rising Stars has instead drawn Senegal, Zambia and Sierra Leone in a modest-looking Group C.

Hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal were among the Western African giants in the 13 teams that will compete in the 2025 edition.

Kenya’s U20, under Salim Babu, secured a spot in the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after an emphatic 4-0 victory over Burundi in the semi-finals of the U20 AFCON CECAFA Qualifiers in October 2024.

The team however lost the regional finale to Tanzania’s Ngorongoro heroes in a 2-1 defeat.

This year’s edition will be a maiden appearance for the Rising Stars.

The 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Côte d’Ivoire from 26th April to 18th May 2025.

The top four nations will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup which will be staged in Chile from September 27 to October 19, 2025.

Full draw

Group A:  Côte d’Ivoire, UNIFACC 2, DR Congo, Ghana, Tanzania

Group B: Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco

Group C: Senegal, Zambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone

Draw Procedure

The teams were divided into three AFCON groups (A, B, and C), with Group A containing five teams and Groups B and C four sides each. Cote d’Ivoire, as the host country, was automatically preassigned to position A1 in Group A.

The remainder of the seeds for each group were determined via the final placings in the CAF Under-20 AFCON, Egypt 2023.

Holders Senegal take up position C1, and Nigeria, who finished third two years ago, take up position B1.