Nigeria's youth footballers, known as the "Future Eagles", won football gold at the 2014 Games in Gaborone.

In 2018 they claimed silver after a final defeat against Morocco in Algiers.

"The All Africa Youth Games is very important for our boys and we will be ready for it," Future Eagles coach Charles Bassey predicted as he called for an early start to Nigeria's preparations for the Games.

"We hope to start camping early enough and we will hit the ground running."

The event in Brazzaville is expected to feature competition in some 30 sports and attract around 4,500 participants.

The Games, organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), are designed for the same 14-18 age group as the Youth Olympic Games.

They were first held in the Moroccan capital Rabat in 2010 but have not taken place since 2018 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lesotho’s capital Maseru had originally been selected for the 2022 Games and was then replaced by Addis Ababa.

The outbreak of civil war in Tigray in the north of the country forced a further reallocation to Cairo.

The Games were then postponed as a result of the pandemic.

Officials hailed the agreement to stage the Games in Brazzaville, a city which hosted the 2015 African Games as "highly welcomed."

Brazzaville is also set to act as the venue for the continental phase of the International Handball Federation (IHF) men's youth and junior tournaments for the IHF Trophy Africa with play set to begin on January 16.

The 2022 Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Dakar, Senegal, were postponed until 2026 because of the pandemic.