140 women to take part as cricket championship begins in Abuja Oct 20

The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) says it is set to host the 2024 national women’s championship in Abuja.

The tournament is scheduled to be held from October 20 to 27 at the twin cricket ovals of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

Speaking on Sunday, Sani Mohammed, the NCF’s secretary general, disclosed that the event marks the culmination of zonal eliminations held across the country.

“This is the national finals for the women’s focused developmental initiates that had gone on from the first quarter of the year and it is remarkable that it is coming at this period that we have just qualified for the ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup coming up in Malaysia next February,” he said.

Approximately 140 players from Lagos, Ekiti, Kogi, Kaduna, Gombe, Edo, Akwa Ibom, and Anambra states, alongside top cricket officials from Nigeria, will participate in the tournament

Sani said the event aims to enhance cricket’s administrative skills, including umpiring, scoring, coaching, and live broadcasting.

“We are also using this event to improve on the cricket’s administrative skills, including umpiring, scoring, and growing our coaching and live broadcasting capacities,” he said.

“The federation’s staff and cricket officials will be working with the mind to prime ourselves for the International Cricket Council’s sub-regional World Cup Qualifier in about a month.”

Sani emphasized the success of the developmental efforts, which he said have created part-time jobs and career paths for youths.