Nigeria Cricket Federation Partners PwC for National U-17 Championship
The Nigeria Cricket Federation has announced a partnership with Nigeria’s topmost Accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) to stage the maiden Edition of the National Under 17 Cricket Championship.
The championship which features male and female is structured to provide the next generation of cricketers to represent the nation in both domestic and international tournaments in the near future.
Underscoring one of the Federation’s core development model of spreading the game throughout the country, an elimination series across the 5 geo-political zones with 19 states participating will take place from August 22nd to 26th 2019 for girls, while the boys will take their turn from August 28th to September 2nd, 2019. One team will qualify from each zone to compete in Abuja for the national finals scheduled to take place from 19th – 30th September 2019.
“According to the President of the Federation, Professor Yahaya Ukwenya, the championship will serve as the feeder channel and a clear transition pathway to the national Under 19 and eventually the senior national team. This he says resonates with the PwC brand which stands for accountability, sustainable development, and continuity which aligns with the NCF as a brand. The 1st phase of the Naija Kids Cricket grassroots development program which saw over 3000 kids introduced to the sports in 2018 hallmarks the flourishing relationship between both parties he said.”
Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, and Rivers states will be converging in Rivers State for the South- South Eliminations. In the South-East, Enugu will host Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo states, while, FCT will host Kogi, Kwara and Niger states for the North Central elimination series. Other states vying for a ticket to the national finals include Ekiti, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and Osun in the South West region with Oyo State set to host. Finally, Jigawa and Kaduna states will slug it out for the North West ticket in Kaduna.
Emeka Igwilo, General Manager of the Federation explained further that; “This is one of the most important events on our calendar year as it holds a lot for the future of the national teams and also helps us develop different technical capacities, including coaching, umpiring and scoring at different regions. This tournament will also afford the states the opportunity to showcase their talents and depth of work”.
A male and a female team each will qualify from the regions to compete at the national finals slated for September 19th to 30th in Abuja.