Cricket: Junior Yellow Greens begin W’Cup qualifiers in Lagos

Nigeria’s male U-19 cricket team, the Junior Yellow Greens, will face Namibia in their first match of the 2026 ICC U-19 World Cup qualifiers on Friday (today), as they hope to clinch the country’s second ticket in the event on home soil, NewsNGR Sports Extra reports.

Nigeria is hosting the final phase of the ICC Africa qualifiers with five other teams jostling for the sole ticket through the tournament.

Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Uganda all arrived in the country on Wednesday before the tournament.

The six countries will face off in a round-robin format of 50 overs at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval and the UNILAG Cricket Oval for eight days and the top team at the end of the tournament will advance to the World Cup, which will be hosted in Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Nigeria and Namibia will face off at TBS while Kenya and Sierra Leone will do battle at UNILAG.

The Junior Yellow Greens are seeking a second appearance at the men’s U-19 World Cup, having debuted at the 2020 edition in South Africa.

Nigeria’s captain, Gafar Kareem, said his teammates are motivated by the opportunity to repeat Nigeria’s success at the U-19 World Cup and not pressured by the urge to achieve.

“We just want to focus on ourselves and do the basics,” Kareem said on Friday.

“My teammates and I have seen what our seniors did some years ago and what our female counterparts did at the World Cup in Malaysia.

“So, there is no pressure whatsoever on us, we just want to enjoy the moment.”

Head coach, Daniel Gim, also stressed that the team is ready, coupled with the advantage of playing at home.

“I feel we are in a very good position and the team is in good spirits to go into the tournament. We are well prepared.” Gim said.

After Friday’s opening game, the Junior Yellow Greens will return to action on Sunday against Tanzania.