Over 100 youths from across the country have been confirmed for the fifth PwC National U-17 Cricket Championship finals, which begins today and ends on February 19 in Abuja.
Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Technical Director, Joshua Eshua, said the participants are members of the regional champions from the just-concluded zonal championships.
Eshua said: “We just-concluded the regional finals in the six geo-political zones of the country, which was to select the regional teams for the finals. So, an average of 14 players will be representing each region at the national finals.
“A number of states and regions also made room for extra players to come along for exposure and experience, which swells the number of athletes on ground at the event.”
Eshua said that the PwC National U-17 Championship has become the biggest national event for budding stars, adding that the quality of the competition has also positioned it for growing traveling spectatorship among cricket enthusiasts.
“We have many cricket club operators and youth development charity outfits that have made the National U-17 Championship a one-stop event to spot and recruit youngsters into clubs active in different leagues across the country.”
He also said that national team handlers, especially the national U-19 men and women coaches find the event useful for beefing up their national squads.
The event would be hosted on the twin cricket ovals at Package ‘B’ of Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, with the players expected to have arrived yesterday ahead of the first game today.
