Nigeria have been drawn against Tanzania in the African qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup which will be staged in France.

The draw held at the world football governing body Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday saw the Falconets pitted with the Tanzanians.

The Nigerian team will be welcomed by their Tanzania opponents in the first leg first round qualifiers on the weekend of September 15-17 before playing at home in the return leg on the weekend of September 29, 30 and October 1, 2017.

Should Nigeria progress from the first round, they will take on either Morocco or Senegal in the next phase of the qualification series in the week commencing November 3-5, 2017; with second legs billed for November 17-19.

Nigeria are finalists of the biennial women's game on two occasions, after they lost to Germany in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups final.

They had a disappointing outing at the 2016 championship held in Papua New Guinea, after coach Peter Dedevbo team failed to qualify from the group stages.

AFRICAN U20 QUALIFIERS

PRELIMINARY ROUND:
1. Burundi vs Djibouti
2. Djibouti vs Burundi
3. Libya vs Sierra Leone
4. Sierra Leone vs Libya
5. Botswana vs Kenya
6. Kenya vs Botswana

1st legs: 21 – 23 July 2017
2nd legs:  4 – 6 August 2017

FIRST ROUND:
7. Burundi/Djibouti vs Rwanda
8. South Africa vs Namibia
9. Morocco vs Senegal
0. Tanzania vs Nigeria
1. Libya/Sierra Leone vs Tunisia
2. Guinea vs Cameroon
3. Algeria vs Ghana
4. Botswana/Kenya vs Ethiopia

1st legs: 15 – 17 September 2017
2nd legs: 29 -30 September, 1st October 2017

SECOND ROUND:
15. Djibouti/Burundi or Rwanda vs South Africa/Namibia
16. Morocco/Senegal vs Nigeria/Tanzania
17. Libya/Sierra Leone or Tunisia vs Cameroon/Guinea
18. Algeria/Ghana vs Botswana/Kenya or Ethiopia

1st legs:  3 – 5 November 2017
2nd legs: 17 – 19 November 2017

THIRD ROUND:
19.Winner 15 vs Winner 16
20. Winner 17 vs Winner 18

1st legs: 12 -14 January 2018
2nd legs: 26 – 28 January 2018

16 teams from six confederations will compete for the title across four cities; they include Rennes, Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Malo and Vannes.

North Korea are reigning champions after they defeated France 3-1 in the final match of the 2016 edition in Papua New Guinea.

Follow Rachael on Twitter @RachyUgiagbe