Cricket: Nigeria to host 4-nation West African tourney

The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) will host the first edition of the West African Trophy — which will begin from October 4 to 15 at the Tafawa Balewa Square Oval, Lagos.

Ghana, Sierra Leone and Rwanda are the other teams that would be represented in the ten-day event — where two matches will be played daily till the final day.

Uyi Akpata, president of the NCF, on Sunday, said the latest event resulted from partnerships with new sponsors and would create platforms for exposure of the national team to more international engagements that are vital to their development.

“This event is the first in its series and we are glad to put it together, along with some partners, especially Dafabet, with the aim to prepare the national men’s cricket team “The Yellow-Greens” ahead of engagements billed for later in the year,” Akpata said.

“Sierra Leone and Ghana are our rivals on the West African corridor and Rwanda’s profile has been on the rise as well. So, it will be a great chance to test the might of the Nigerian team, which has also been upgraded lately with the promotion of former Under-19 players.”

Emeka Igwilo, the general manager of the NCF, said the competition would aid the growing capacity of the federation to host international competitions in terms of facility and personnel.

“We target up-skilling of our staff and development of special relationship across industries for event management and all the accoutrements necessary for hosting international events, following the strides we have made over the last few years in development across the country and in view of our yearly recruitment goal that has crossed 250,000,” Igwillo said.

Nigeria has six turf wickets that can host international cricket matches.

The Nigerian team, which would be coached by Kenyan Steve Tikolo and captained by Sylvester Okpe, would take on Rwanda in the opening game on Tuesday.