The two best teams qualified for the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Burkina Faso, Liberia, Congo and Mauritius withdrew: Togo, Ghana, Cameroon and Zimbabwe advanced to the second round, while Algeria, Ghana and Mali received byes.

Togo withdrew, meaning Algeria qualified for the final tournament, while Gabon were ejected from the competition for using ineligible players.

Algeria and Tunisia would not participate in the main tournament due to the Gulf War.

The two best performing teams qualified for the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship.