ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier (formerly ICC Africa Under-19 Championships) are a series of regular cricket tournaments organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for under-19 teams from its African member nations. It is the regional qualifier for the ICC 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 the East Asia-Pacific Cricket Council was held.Other Matches played by Namibia Under-19s cricketarchive.com 17 November 2010 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 are Tanzania, who won the 2025 tournament in Nigeria to qualify for the 2026 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Namibia have won seven titles, the most of any team, while Uganda have won twice and Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania once each.
Under-19 World Cup Qualification History
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 only Kenya and Namibia took part in the World Cup.ICC Youth World Cup 2000 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010Under-19 World Cup 2002 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010 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,The East and Central Africa cricket team and West Africa cricket team had not yet split into their separate states at this point Kenya already had automatic qualification for the 2002 U-19 World Cup due to their ODI status.Africa: Under 19 titles start today espncricinfo.com 17 November 2010 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.Africa Under-19 Championship 2000/2001 Points Table cricketarchive.com 17 November 2010
For the following two U-19 World Cups, the African Cricket Association and the East Asia-Pacific Cricket Council organised joint qualification competitions from which two teams would progress. In the 2003 competition, Uganda qualified alongside EAP side Papua New Guinea for the 2004 U-19 World Cup but in 2005 two African nations, Namibia and Uganda made it through to the 2006 finals.ICC Under 19 World Cup 2004 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010ICC Under 19 World Cup 2006 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
In 2007, the two councils once again organised separate competitions, meaning only one team would qualify from the African Championships.Namibia announce Under-19 squad espncricinfo.com 17 November 2010 Namibia beat Kenya in the final to go through as the representative of African associate nations.Africa Under 19 Championships 2007 cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010
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,News Flash Africa February 2009 icc-cricket.yahoo.net 17 November 2010 a new international 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 the World Cup finals.Under 19 World Cup Qualifier details cricketeurope4.net 17 November 2010 The winners and runners-up of the 2009 Africa U-19 Championships, Uganda and Sierra 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.Visa issues end Sierra Leone's World Cup dream espncricinfo.com 17 November 2010
The same system continued for the 2012 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 the U-19 World Cup Qualifier, held the next year.Lotter, Vijayakumar bag top honours icc-cricket.yahoo.net 17 November 2010
Tournament results Division One YearHost(s)Venue(s)FinalWinnerResultRunner-up 2001 Kampala +0.981 NRR Namibia won on net run ratetable East and Central Africa+0.287 NRR 2003(with EAP) Windhoek 9/193 (50 overs) Papua New Guinea won by 53 runsscorecard 140 all out 2005(with EAP) Benoni 140/7 (43.3 overs) Namibia won by 3 wicketsscorecard 139 (47.3 overs) 2007 Benoni 256/7 (50 overs) Namibia won by 39 runs scorecard 217 all out (45.2 overs) 2009 Lusaka 12 points Uganda won on points table 10 points 2010 Windhoek 14 points Namibia won on points table 10 points 2013 Entebbe and Kampala 173 (47.2 overs) Namibia won by 52 runsscorecard 121 (40 overs) 2015 Dar es Salaam 8 points Namibia won on pointsfixtures 6 points 2017 Nairobi 10 points Kenya won on net run rate 10 points 2019 Windhoek 10 points Nigeria won on points 8 points 2021 Kigali 6 points Uganda won on net run ratetable 6 points 2023 Dar es Salaam 9 points Namibia won on pointstable 7 points 2025 Lagos 10 points Tanzania won on pointstable 8 points
Division Two YearHost(s)Venue(s)FinalWinnerResultRunner-up 2009 Maputo Sierra Leone won on points 2010 Big Bend 8 points Nigeria won on pointstable 6 points 2013 Benoni Ghana won on points 2014 Lusaka 10 points Tanzania won on pointstable 6 points 2016 Benoni 12 pointsGhana won on pointstable 8 points 2018 Potchefstroom 242/9 (50 overs)Nigeria won by 137 runsscorecard 105 (31 overs) 2022 Abuja 90 (35 overs) Kenya won by 11 runs 79 (20.4 overs) 2024 Dar-es-Salaam 178/8 (50 overs) Tanzania won by 36 runs (DLS)scorecard 98/8 (29 overs)
Participating teams (Division One) Legend – Champions – Runners-up – Third place Q – Qualified * – Combined tournament with EAP members (not included in this table) – Hosts
Team 2001 2003* 2005* 2007 2009 2010 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 Total — — — 4th 6th 3rd 4th 6th 4th ― ― ― ― 6 — — — 6th — — — — 3rd ― ― ― ― 2 4th 3rd 3rd 2nd 5th 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 5th ― 2nd 3rd 12 1st 4th 1st 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st ― 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 12 — 6th 8th 8th 8th 7th 5th 5th ― 1st 5th 6th 5th 11 — — — — — — — — ― — 4th ― ― 1 — — — — 2nd 6th 8th — ― 4th ― 4th 6th 6 — 7th 5th 7th 7th 8th 7th 4th ― 6th 3rd 5th 1st 11 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 — 5th 6th 5th 4th 4th 6th — ― ― N/A 6
Records This section includes performances by African teams and players at the 2003 and 2005 combined Africa/EAP tournaments. Highest team scores 399/5 (50 overs) – vs , 29 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.Nigeria Under-19s v Zambia Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (5th Place Play-off Semi-Final) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 356/9 (50 overs) – vs , 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club, Windhoek.Fiji Under-19s v Kenya Under-19s, Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship 2003/04 (Group B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 355/8 (50 overs) – vs West Africa, 5 January 2001, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala.Uganda Under-19s v West Africa Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2000/01 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 334/7 (50 overs) – vs , 27 May 2013, at Kyambogo Cricket Oval, Kampala.Namibia Under-19s v Zambia Under-19s, ICC Africa Under-19 Division One Championship 2013 (Pool A) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 321/6 (50 overs) – vs , 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.Botswana Under-19s v Namibia Under-19s, ICC Africa Under-19 Championship 2014/15 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
Lowest team scores 21 all out (18.4 overs) – vs , 26 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.Nigeria Under-19s vs Uganda Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 35/8 (20 overs) – vs , 4 May 2009, Centrals Sports Club, Lusaka. 36 all out (15 overs) – vs , 5 September 2010, at Centre for Cricket Development, Windhoek.Tanzania Under-19s v Zambia Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2010 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 41 all out (12.2 overs) – vs , 28 May 2013, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala.Kenya Under-19s v Nigeria Under-19s, ICC Africa Under-19 Division One Championship 2013 (Pool B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 42 all out (18.1 overs) – vs , 25 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.Botswana Under-19s v Nigeria Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
Highest individual scores 161 (143 balls) – Xander Pitchers, vs , 27 May 2013, at Kyambogo Cricket Oval, Kampala. 155* (129 balls) – Zane Green, vs , 16 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam. 152 (130 balls) – Gert Lotter, vs , 31 August 2010, at Afrikaans Primary School, Windhoek.Namibia Under-19s v Sierra Leone Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2010 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 135 (? balls) – Laurence Sematimba, vs West Africa, 5 January 2001, at Lugogo Stadium, Kampala. 127 (? balls) – Hafeez Manji, vs , 4 October 2003, at Police Sports Club, Windhoek.
Best bowling figures 7/11 (8 overs) – David Wabwire, vs , 14 February 2015, at Annadil Burhani Ground, Dar es Salaam.Botswana Under-19s v Uganda Under-19, ICC Africa Under-19 Championship 2014/15 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2015. 7/12 (6.1 overs) – Athumani Kakonzi, vs , 23 August 2005, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.Fiji Under-19s v Tanzania Under-19s, Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship 2005 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 7/14 (10 overs) – Collins Okwalinga, vs , 19 February 2015, at Gymkhana Club Ground, Dar es Salaam.Botswana Under-19s v Uganda Under-19, ICC Africa Under-19 Championship 2014/15 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 February 2015. 6/3 (9.4 overs) – Charles Waiswa, vs , 26 August 2007, at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.Tanzania Under-19s v Uganda Under-19s, Africa Under-19 Championship 2007 (Pool 2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 February 2015. 6/7 (8 overs) – Geoffrey Nyero vs , 4 May 2009, Centrals Sports Club, Lusaka.
See also ICC Africa Twenty20 Championship ICC Africa Women's Championship World Cricket League Africa Region
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