AFCON U17 Nations Cup: Liberia withdraws; Ghana gets walkover

The Liberian Football Association have confirmed their withdrawal from the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations tournament, Kickgh.com can exclusively reveal.

The Liberia U-17 were drawn to face the Black Starlets of Ghana in the first round of the qualifiers of the competition.

The young Lone stars pulled out of the competition due to financial constraints.

"Is true We [Liberia] have withdrawn from the tournament. We don't have the adequate funds to make the trip to Ghana for the qualifiers, so we decided to pull out," Liberian FA member told Kickgh.com in an exclusive interview.

The Black Starlets were to begin their campaign hosting the Young Leon Stars on the weekend of June 24-26, before travelling to Monrovia in a fortnight for the return leg.

Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin and his charges earn a walkover to take on Burkina Faso in the second round of the qualifiers in August this year.

The Africa U-17 Cup of Nations will be held in Madagascar next year.