Cricket Federation Puts Women’s Development To Test

Nigeria Cricket Federation has put together the maiden age-grade international tournament for the Women’s Under-19 national team, the Nigeria-Ghana Under-19 Women Series.

The event is a four-team invitational event that kicked off on Sunday, September 8, 2024, at the University of Lagos Cricket Oval. It parades Ghana’s Under 19 National Team, the South-West female team, a selected national Women’s team, and Nigeria’s Under 19 Women’s Team.

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Uyi Akpata, President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, said the event was meant to test the Federation’s development efforts for Women’s Cricket.

“Apart from getting the Women’s Under 19 team in shape for the Division One World Cup Qualifier starting September 22nd in Kigali, this event allows us to test the depth of our Women’s development. For the first time, we are parading three teams of national team quality and invited Ghana’s Under 19 Women to join.”

Akpata said that the strategic objective of the Federation is to attain gender equality in its developmental effort.

“We have had our school outreaches focused a bit more on girl-child initiatives and it has been yielding results. The impact is beginning to resonate for the country already.” He added.

The Female National Team put up a podium performance at the African Games in Accra earlier in March ahead of the Male team with a Bronze medal, justifying the investment in female Cricket development in the country.

“We now have a female Cricket League run in the South-South, with eight teams taking part and a fully functional Cricket facility inside an all-girl Iyoba College in Benin City, Edo State.” He also added.

The Nigeria-Ghana Under 19 Women Series is also helping the national Under 19 Women’s team prepare for the World Cup Qualifier. The tournament, which is taking place from September 22nd to 29th at the Gahanga Cricket Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, is a great opportunity for the team to gain experience and improve their skills

Nigeria is in Group B alongside Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Malawi in the eight-team series. Group A features Rwanda, Namibia, Uganda, and Kenya.

“Development is an ongoing process, carefully curating the process that produces and hones our players’ skill is key for us. Of course, we are looking forward to picking the World Cup ticket, but it will be better if we keep refining the process that produces and makes our players better.”