The President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Uyi Akpata, has showered praise on the country’s female U-19 team, following their top-six finish at the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia.

Akpata credited the success to four years of strategic development, stating the role of school competitions, the National Youth Games, and the Under-17 Championships in shaping the squad.

He also highlighted Nigeria’s investment in young talent, with seven players already featuring for the senior national team.

“Most of the Nigerians who followed these girls for almost two weeks were all super excited, proud of what the girls have done for themselves, their immediate families, Nigerian Cricket Federation, and more importantly the country at large.”

“We redefined expectations as we went along, and these girls truly deserve all the accolades they are getting now.”

“Let’s just also realize that this is not just by chance, it’s four years in the making.”

Akpata further detailed the structured development pathway that produced this team, stating:

“We have a developmental plan where most of these girls started school through secondary school competitions, then the National Youth Games, then the PwC Under-17 Championships.”

“So at the end of the day, it’s been strategic in terms of where we position them to be.”

“Seven of them had actually played for the mainstream female national team.”

Beyond talent identification, Akpata also emphasized the importance of Nigeria’s high-performance facilities in Abuja, Lagos, and Benin, which have helped sustain the pipeline of emerging stars.

“That’s because we just decided from the beginning to identify talents and continue to groom them.”

“The fact that we have high-performance facilities in place—Abuja, Lagos, and Benin—means that we continue to have that pipeline of talent.”

A Historic Feat for Nigerian Cricket

The Junior Yellow Greens’ achievement marks a turning point for women’s cricket in Nigeria, securing automatic qualification for the 2027 edition of the World Cup in Nepal and Bangladesh.

With their impressive victories over New Zealand and Ireland and near qualification for the semifinals, the team has cemented Nigeria’s place on the global stage.

Nigeria’s investment in cricket grassroots development is paying off, setting the stage for even greater accomplishments in the years to come.