Akpata: Cricket is best run sport in Nigeria

Uyi Akpata, president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), says the sport is the best administered in the country.

Akpata spoke on Thursday while pitching the federation to the private sector at an event in Lagos tagged ‘Cricket Meet Corporates’.

He claimed that the NCF has “some of the most dedicated workforce in sports development”.

“I would like to say the Nigeria Cricket Federation structure is the best I have seen around, and it is moulded from my experience in the private sector,” he said.

“We have some of the most dedicated workforces in sports development, and some of the states post a massive 25 000 kids’ in-take into the sport annually. We have raised the stake to 500,000 for the coming season.

“In 2023, we had uLesson come on board our youth project and many more corporates like Access Bank joined our Women’s T20i Invitational that had Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Cameroon and Sierra Leone. Eko Disco, Intercontinental Hotel, Sparkle and Alaro City have also acknowledged the value in our projects.

“We plan to raise the stakes in 2024 as the ICC has also focused on our activities while we hope to leverage on the 2.5 billion audience of world cricket and our partners. We are very focused and value-driven and will be looking forward to working with several brands on these.”

Akpata said the Nigeria women’s team, presently ranked 30th in the world, and men’s 38th standing on the world T20i table, respectively, adds to Nigeria’s enviable profile as the new year approaches.

“Our male team is presently in Zimbabwe, heading to Namibia next week to begin a historic chase for the 2024 World Cup ticket, and the ladies will do the same in a few weeks in December,” he also said.

Meanwhile, the West Africa Under 15 Championship, the 2024 Women’s T20i Invitational, Men’s T20i Invitational, Nigeria Super League, national championships, secondary school Challenge Cup and the Nigeria Universities Cricket League are some of the projects that the NCF has lined up for 2024.