The 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations (23rd edition if tournaments without hosts are included), the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 20 and below.In September 2018, it was decided that the tournament would be hosted by Mauritania. This will be the first edition in Africa U-20 Cup of Nations to have expanded to 12 teams instead of eight. The top four teams of the tournament would have normally qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia as the CAF representatives. However, FIFA decided to cancel the tournament on 24 December 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.