The President of Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Uyi Akpata has praised the female national team over its improvement ahead of its contemporaries in recent years.
Uyi acknowledged that the holistic development of talents was a result of the federation’s agenda on gender inclusion.
“Our female national team has been one of the most improved of all our national teams in the last five years and our gender inclusion development agenda has thrown up massive talents that have left us with an ever-improving side,” he said.
The President said this in Abuja prior to the hosting of a six-nation T20 Invitational Cricket Tournament in Lagos from March 26 – April 4.
He stressed that despite the event being systemic, it is an avenue to celebrate the achievements of NCF in grooming a lot of female talents in the profession through its grassroots project.
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Uyi said, “Apart from celebrating the milestones that the Federation has achieved in raising tons of female cricketers through its grassroots project, this event will become a part of the process.”
The event whose teams’ (Ghana, Gambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone) performances will be rated accordingly by the International Cricket Council (ICC), will catalyse the development of the Nigeria female team.
Uyi continued, “A lot has happened in the game’s development recently. The Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval that was resurfaced and upgraded to a ten-strip turf playing surface in January will be put to its first major use.
“Our experienced umpires that the country has invested in the last few years will also be officiating, so it’s a good time to show what we have done,” he added.
The NCF confirms that a for more than a week, a total of 36 players have been in camp at the Edo Boys High School High-Performance Centre, Benin.
