1981 African Youth Championship
The African Youth Championship 1981 was contested through home and away matches. It also served as qualification for the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 June 1980 – 24 April 1981 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Egypt (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Cameroon |
| Third place |  Nigeria |
| Fourth place |  Algeria |
Teams
The following teams entered the tournament (and played at least one match):
Preliminary round
The first leg was played on 8 June 1980. The second leg was held on 22 June 1980. The winners advanced to the First Round.
Guinea, Cameroon, Tunisia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Kenya all received byes to the First Round.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Equatorial Guinea  |
4 - 3 |  Gabon |
2 - 0 | 2 - 3 |
Togo  |
w/o 1 |  Benin |
||
Zimbabwe  |
w/o 1 |  Malawi |
1 Malawi and Benin withdrew.
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea  |
2 - 2 (a) | Equatorial Guinea |
2 - 1 | 0 - 1 |
| Cameroon |
5 - 1 | Togo |
3 - 0 | 2 - 1 |
Tunisia .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
1 - 1 (6-5 PSO) |  Morocco |
0 - 1 | 1 - 0 (a.e.t.) |
| Zimbabwe |
2 - 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ethiopia |
0 - 0 | 2 - 1 |
Mauritania .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
1 - 6 | Algeria |
1 - 3 | 0 - 3 |
| Nigeria |
w/o 1 |  Ivory Coast |
||
Egypt .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
w/o 1 |  Uganda |
||
Central African Republic  |
w/o 1 |  Kenya |
1 Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda and Kenya withdrew.
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon |
3 - 1 | Equatorial Guinea |
3 - 0 | 0 - 1 |
| Nigeria |
5 - 4 | Tunisia |
4 - 0 | 1 - 4 |
| Zimbabwe |
1 - 3 | Egypt |
1 - 1 | 0 - 2 |
| Central African Republic |
4-3 1 | Algeria |
4 - 1 | 0 - 2 1 |
1 Central African Republic were forced to withdraw due to civil unrest and political turmoil in the country.
Semi Final
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria |
2 - 4 | Cameroon |
2 - 3 | 0 - 1 |
| Algeria |
w/o1 | Egypt |
1 Algeria withdrew.
Final
The first leg was played on 12 April 1981. The second leg was played on 26 April 1981.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon |
1 - 3 | Egypt |
1 - 1 | 0 - 2 |
| 1981 African Youth Championship Winners |
|---|
Egypt First title |
Qualification to World Youth Championship
The two best performing teams qualified for the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship.