| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Format | 50-over |
| First edition | 2001 |
| Latest edition | 2025 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin |
| Current champion |  Tanzania |
| Most successful |  Namibia (7 titles) |
| Part of a series on the |
| International cricket competitions |
|---|
 |
Regional bodies |
| ICC Competitions |
| Men's |
| Women's |
| Multi-sport competitions |
| Regional competitions |
Africa |
Americas
|
Asia
|
East-Asia Pacific |
Other |
| Note:Defunct competitions are listed in italics. |
ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier (formerlyICC Africa Under-19 Championships) are a series of regular cricket tournaments organised by theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) for under-19 teams from its African member nations. It is the regional qualifier for theICC Under-19 World Cup.
The initial tournament was staged in 2001 but did not return until 2007. During the interim years a joint competition with theEast Asia-Pacific Cricket Council was held.[1] A second division was added in 2009 providing affiliate nations with a chance to participate. After this first edition, two teams were promoted, but since then only one team has moved between divisions. The two divisions are played at different times and in different locations.
The current champions areTanzania, who won the2025 tournament in Nigeria to qualify for the2026 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.Namibia have won seven titles, the most of any team, whileUganda have won twice andKenya,Nigeria and Tanzania once each.
One of the key aspects of the African Under-19 Championships is its role in Under-19 World Cup Qualification. Before the introduction of the championship onlyKenya andNamibia took part in the World Cup.[2][3] However, aided by the development of international cricket during the late 90s and 2000s the possibility of holding the first African regional qualifier arose in 2001. Of the five associate nations at that time,[4] Kenya already had automatic qualification for the2002 U-19 World Cup due to theirODI status.[5] As a result, the highest finisher in the inaugural competition besides Kenya would also qualify. Namibia finished in first place and so earned themselves the final World Cup space.[6]
For the following two U-19 World Cups, theAfrican Cricket Association and theEast Asia-Pacific Cricket Council organised joint qualification competitions from which two teams would progress.[1] Inthe 2003 competition,Uganda qualified alongside EAP sidePapua New Guinea for the2004 U-19 World Cup butin 2005 two African nations, Namibia and Uganda made it through to the2006 finals.[7][8]
In 2007, the two councils once again organised separate competitions, meaning only one team would qualify from the African Championships.[9] Namibia beat Kenya in the final to go through as the representative of African associate nations.[10]
The entire qualification system for the U-19 World Cup was revamped in 2009. Whilst regionally, a second division of African affiliate nations was organised, including the chance of promotion,[11] a newinternational qualification tournament was introduced by the ICC. This competition saw ten teams, two from each of the five cricketing regions, fighting for the six remaining places in theWorld Cup finals.[12] The winners and runners-up of the2009 Africa U-19 Championships, Uganda andSierra Leone, made it through to the U-19 World Qualifiers, but neither finished high enough to progress to final. The Sierra Leone team hit the headlines when they were denied visas and so had no chance to compete.[13]
The same system continued for the2012 U-19 World Cup qualification, though the regional divisions were played a year earlier than usual, in 2010. Namibia and Kenya finished first and second in Division One earning them places in theU-19 World Cup Qualifier, held the next year.[14]
| Year | Host(s) | Venue(s) | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||
| 2001 |  Uganda | Kampala | Namibia +0.981 NRR | Namibia won on net run rate table | East and Central Africa +0.287 NRR |
| 2003 (with EAP) | Namibia | Windhoek |  Papua New Guinea9/193 (50 overs) | Papua New Guinea won by 53 runs scorecard | Uganda 140 all out |
| 2005 (with EAP) |  South Africa | Benoni | Namibia 140/7 (43.3 overs) | Namibia won by 3 wickets scorecard | Uganda 139 (47.3 overs) |
| 2007 | South Africa | Benoni | Namibia 256/7 (50 overs) | Namibia won by 39 runs scorecardArchived 22 August 2010 at theWayback Machine |  Kenya217 all out (45.2 overs) |
| 2009 |  Zambia | Lusaka | Uganda 12 points | Uganda won on points tableArchived 22 August 2010 at theWayback Machine |  Sierra Leone10 points |
| 2010 | Namibia | Windhoek | Namibia 14 points | Namibia won on points table | Kenya 10 points |
| 2013 | Uganda | Entebbe andKampala | Namibia 173 (47.2 overs) | Namibia won by 52 runs scorecard | Kenya 121 (40 overs) |
| 2015 | Tanzania | Dar es Salaam | Namibia 8 points | Namibia won on points fixtures | Uganda 6 points |
| 2017 | Kenya | Nairobi | Kenya 10 points | Kenya won on net run rate | Uganda 10 points |
| 2019 | Namibia | Windhoek |  Nigeria10 points | Nigeria won on points | Namibia 8 points |
| 2021 |  Rwanda | Kigali | Uganda 6 points | Uganda won on net run rate table | Namibia 6 points |
| 2023 | Tanzania | Dar es Salaam | Namibia 9 points | Namibia won on points table | Kenya 7 points |
| 2025 | Nigeria | Lagos | Tanzania 10 points | Tanzania won on points table | Namibia 8 points |
| Year | Host(s) | Venue(s) | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||
| 2009 |  Mozambique | Maputo | Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone won on points |  Ghana |
| 2010 |  Eswatini | Big Bend | Nigeria 8 points | Nigeria won on points table | Rwanda 6 points |
| 2013 | South Africa | Benoni | Ghana | Ghana won on points | Tanzania |
| 2014 | Zambia | Lusaka | Tanzania 10 points | Tanzania won on points table | Rwanda 6 points |
| 2016 | South Africa | Benoni | Ghana 12 points | Ghana won on points table |  Botswana8 points |
| 2018 | South Africa | Potchefstroom | Nigeria 242/9 (50 overs) | Nigeria won by 137 runs scorecard | Sierra Leone 105 (31 overs) |
| 2022 | Nigeria | Abuja | Kenya 90 (35 overs) | Kenya won by 11 runs | Nigeria 79 (20.4 overs) |
| 2024 | Tanzania | Dar-es-Salaam | Tanzania 178/8 (50 overs) | Tanzania won by 36 runs (DLS) scorecard | Sierra Leone 98/8 (29 overs) |
| Team | 2001 | 2003* | 2005* | 2007 | 2009 | 2010 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana | — | — | — | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 6th | 4th | ― | ― | ― | ― | 6 |
| Ghana | — | — | — | 6th | — | — | — | — | 3rd | ― | ― | ― | ― | 2 |
| Kenya | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 5th | ― | 2nd | 3rd | 12 |
| Namibia | 1st | 4th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | ―[a] | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 12 |
| Nigeria | — | 6th | 8th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 5th | 5th | ― | 1st | 5th | 6th | 5th | 11 |
| Rwanda | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ― | — | 4th | ― | ― | 1 |
| Sierra Leone | — | — | — | — | 2nd | 6th | 8th | — | ― | 4th | ― | 4th | 6th | 6 |
| Tanzania | — | 7th | 5th | 7th | 7th | 8th | 7th | 4th | ― | 6th | 3rd | 5th | 1st | 11 |
| Uganda | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 4th | 13 |
| Defunct teams | ||||||||||||||
 East and Central Africa | 2nd | No longer an ICC member | 1 | |||||||||||
 West Africa | 5th | No longer an ICC member | 1 | |||||||||||
 Zambia | — | 5th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 6th | — | ― | ― | N/A | 6 | ||
This section includes performances by African teams and players at the 2003 and 2005 combined Africa/EAP tournaments.
Zambia vs Nigeria, 29 August 2007, atWillowmoore Park,Benoni.[15] Kenya vs
Fiji, 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club,Windhoek.[16] Uganda vsWest Africa, 5 January 2001, atLugogo Stadium,Kampala.[17] Namibia vs Zambia, 27 May 2013, at Kyambogo Cricket Oval,Kampala.[18] Namibia vs Botswana, 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground,Dar es Salaam.[19] Nigeria vs Uganda, 26 August 2007, atWillowmoore Park,Benoni.[20] Sierra Leone vs Uganda, 4 May 2009, Centrals Sports Club,Lusaka. Tanzania vs Zambia, 5 September 2010, at Centre for Cricket Development,Windhoek.[21] Nigeria vs Kenya, 28 May 2013, atLugogo Stadium,Kampala.[22] Nigeria vs Botswana, 25 August 2007, atWillowmoore Park,Benoni.[23]Xander Pitchers, vs Zambia, 27 May 2013, at Kyambogo Cricket Oval,Kampala.[18]Zane Green, vs Botswana, 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground,Dar es Salaam.[19]Gert Lotter, vs Sierra Leone, 31 August 2010, at Afrikaans Primary School,Windhoek.[24]Laurence Sematimba, vsWest Africa, 5 January 2001, atLugogo Stadium,Kampala.[17]Hafeez Manji, vs Fiji, 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club,Windhoek.[16]David Wabwire, vs Botswana, 14 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground,Dar es Salaam.[25]Athumani Kakonzi, vs Fiji, 23 August 2005, atWillowmoore Park,Benoni.[26]Collins Okwalinga, vs Tanzania, 19 February 2015, at Gymkhana Club Ground,Dar es Salaam.[27]Charles Waiswa, vs Nigeria, 26 August 2007, atWillowmoore Park,Benoni.[28]Geoffrey Nyero vs Sierra Leone, 4 May 2009, Centrals Sports Club,Lusaka.
