Cricket: States Register Players For National Under-17 Tournament
Across Nigeria, 29 states have indicated interest to participate in the 4th edition of the zonal qualification of the National Under-17 Cricket championship for Boys and Girls.
The 6 geo-political zones of the country have been given the window of January 20th – 30th, 2023 to conclude their qualification series and a zonal team expected to be announced on the 1st of February, 2023.
In the North Central, FCT will host Kogi, Kwara, Niger and Plateau States while Kebbi will host Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara States in the North West. South-South will see the 2 turf pitches in Edo come to life where Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa and Cross River are set to lock horns.
The Ancient city of Ibadan will host the South-West event as Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun States will play to take maximum space in the zonal team to be selected. Gombe will host Taraba and Borno States in the North East, while Enugu will be home to Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra and Abia States.
The best from the various states will be selected to represent the zone in the National Finals which has been scheduled between February 15th – 19th, 2023 in Abuja. South-South are defending champions while the South-East made a huge leap towards 2nd place in the last edition.
The 4th edition promises to be bigger and better as all eyeballs in the country will once again be drawn to this tournament that produces the next generation of super stars for the country.
Chidi Nwoke/NCF.
