The draw for the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Niger 2019 held on Thursday night in Niamey was headlined by four West African teams finding themselves in the same group.

The quartet Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana were all drawn in Group B dubbed ‘group of death’ in the 21st edition of the youth tournament. The four teams will rekindle their existing rivalry as they battle for places at the last four.

Host Niger found themselves in Group A with neighbours Nigeria with South Africa and Burundi completing the pack. Niger are debutants whilst Burundi is making a return after their historic exploits in 1995, where they lost to Cameroon in the final. Seven-time winners Nigeria on the other hand stages a return after missing out on the last edition in Zambia in 2017.

The ceremony was held at the Technical Centre of the Niger Football Federation in the capital, with CAF Deputy General Secretary, Anthony Baffoe, conducting the draw with the assistance of two former Niger players representing different generations, Moussa Kanfidena and Issoufou Dante.

The final tournament will be held from February
2-17, 2019, in the Niger cities of Niamey and Maradi, with the semi-finalists qualifying to represent the continent at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019.