The Nigeria Cricket Federation has announced that 58 teams have joined the fifth edition of the PwC National Under-17 Cricket Championship, which will begin with regional elimination rounds on January 20th.
The Federation’s General Manager, Emeka Igwilo, has stated that the fifth edition of the event drew more participants than expected, since the event remains one of the fundamental events for grassroots development.
“This year, twenty-five states have registered girls’ teams, while thirty-three boys’ teams are coming from the states for the scheduled zonal eliminations that are expected to run between January 20th and 28th, 2024.”
Igwilo said that the zonal elimination will take place across six regions of the country simultaneously and is expected to produce the regional finalists that will feature in the finals of this year’s event later in February in Abuja.
“One of the key things that this event has achieved for us is the continual supply of grassroots talent that eventually fills the national team’s spot. It also compliments all the efforts of our development officers across the country,” he added.
In total, 812 players will be taking part in the regional elimination championship, which, among other things, raises the impact of the game across the country.
Obioma Ubah, Partner and Corporate Responsibility Leader at PwC Nigeria, the title sponsors of the championship, said that the firm’s involvement in developmental Cricket over the last five years has created an important avenue for the expression and promotion of such values as teamwork, leadership, and a deep sense of nationalism among the youth of Nigeria.
“We are impressed with our partnership with the Cricket Federation in the organisation of this championship. One success story is the fact that the event is one of the few with the highest gender inclusion percentage. In the last four years, eighty percent of the participants have been girls. If you consider the national outlook of the event and the demography that it caters to, you will see the point of alignment with our values as a firm.”
Obioma noted that the event is one of the ways PwC Nigeria is bringing her purpose to life and making sustainable impact on a national scale.
The finals of the event has been scheduled to round off at a national finals to hold between February 7th and 11th at the twin oval of the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
