South-south win 5th U17 cricket championship

The fifth edition of the PwC national U-17 championship has been concluded at the twin ovals of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja — with the south-south region sweeping honours at the tournament.

Like the previous editions, the mixed-gender teams from the region went unbeaten at the national finals, retaining their titles for each class.

Joseph Omonkhobhio and Joy Osazuwa of south-south won the most valuable players in the boys and girls categories respectively.

Speaking after the tournament, Theophilus Ibodeme, coach of the south-south boys’ team, said his wards’ victory was not accidental.

“We are glad to have won again, but I think it’s also down to the depth of our understanding of cricket,” Ibodeme said.

“It feels special to be winners because the other teams have really stepped up their game, which made things very tough for us that we had to dig deeper.”

Also speaking, Tolu Adeleke, a partner at PwC who represented the sponsor at Sunday’s final, said: “We are delighted that the cricket federation has sustained the values we hold on this project; especially that the championship has been elevated to the nursery that produces players for our national teams”.

Chika Okoro, a member of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) board, applauded the sponsor’s long-standing relationship with the federation, saying the national teams’ feat at regional and international meets over the years derived motivation from the sponsorship.

“This edition has shown that one sport can unite the country and with 34 states and 80 per cent of the participants representing the female gender, unity has been achieved through cricket,” Okoro said.

The 2024 championship featured entries from 34 states and the FCT, representing the largest in national coverage.