NCF expands talent search with sixth National Cricket Championship
The Nigeria Cricket Federation has said it is set to discover more talents in the game for the country’s national teams as the sixth edition of the National U-17 Championships draws near.
The national tournament will be held from March 5 to 10 in Abuja following the completion of the zonal eliminations across the six geo-political zones of the country.
Tournament coordinator, Musa Ehizoje, noted that the success of the country at the 2025 ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia was a result of the federation’s consistency in organising the tournament over the years.
“I believe the world and the country have seen what we have been doing in the last six years through our girls who stole the show in Malaysia. All the players in that squad are products of this championship and the same thing applies to the men’s U-19 team,” Ehizoje said.
“In the last week or so, we have seen the best of grassroots cricket and players have been selected to represent their zones at the main tournament in Abuja where new talents will be discovered for the next generation of national team players, especially at the U-19 level.”
The NCF National U-17 Championships started in 2019 and has been providing the pathway for the next generation of superstars to represent Nigeria’s national cricket teams.
Some of the players that have been discovered include Piety Lucky, Lilian Ude, Peace Usen as well as 12 other players who did the country proud at the 2025 ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia.
Other players that have been discovered in the male tournament include Ridwan Abdulkareem and Prosper Useni who have become mainstays in the men’s senior national team.
The first edition had 19 states participating in the boys’ category and 15 states in the girls’ category which increased to 33 and 29 respectively in 2023 and 2024.
The sixth edition has set a new record of participation to 36 states with Yobe, Adamawa and Bauchi from the North East all making their appearance for the first time, while in the North-Central, Benue State finally broke their barren years of involvement in cricket by featuring a boys team in the North-Central zonal qualifier.
