NCF targets more success after W’Cup outing
President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, says the board is poised to build on the success of the country’s female U-19 team at the recently concluded ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, as a way of advancing the development of the game in the country, NewsNGR Sports Extra reports.
Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens ended the tournament as the sixth-best nation, creating huge upsets against test-playing nations New Zealand and Ireland.
The team’s historic performance drew more attention to the game in Nigeria, and Akpata believes the NCF can achieve more by fostering strategic partnerships with brands and relevant stakeholders ahead of subsequent tournaments.
Having started the year on a bright note with the Junior Female Yellow Greens outing, NCF presidents noted that it was in line with the board’s strategic plans for the year.
“We redefined expectations as we went along and these girls deserve all the accolades they are getting. Having said that, this is not just happening by chance, it is four years in the making,” Akpata said at the reception organised by the NCF for the team last Friday.
“We have six targets. For the female team, we want to break into the top 20 in the world and the top 25 in the world for the male so that we can go and play in the Challenge League where we can play the ODI, that’s a different status.”
According to Akpata, the U-19 women’s team performance has aided the NCF’s plan to sell itself to potential partners.
“One of the key things again is that we now have a brand we can sell so we are going commercial. Let people also recognise that they can invest in the cricket brand. Before the World Cup, we got two requests from international companies including one in Costa Rica saying they want to have their names on our outfit. But I paused and thought I’d rather prefer a Nigerian brand. That’s what these girls have done. Hopefully, we will launch the Nigerian Super League this year as well.”
Other Nigerian national teams will also be in the mix to qualify for more World Cups this year, beginning with the men’s U-19 team, which will host other countries in Lagos by April. The men’s senior team are billed for the final phase of the men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers in November.
