As the much-awaited Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) National U-17 Cricket Championship zonal qualifiers kick off in Abuja on Jan. 25, Peter Yakubu, the Regional Development Officer for the North Central zone of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), says he expects stiff competition.
Yakubu stated this in an interview on Wednesday.
“We anticipate stiff competition from the teams this time around compared to the previous events.
“This is because there will be a lot of grassroots engagement in cricket in 2023, so I expect the tournament will expose more talents,“ he said.
He mentioned that the qualifiers scheduled for Jan. 25 to Jan. 28 will feature four teams and three teams in the male and female categories, respectively.
“Ahead of the PwC Under 17 finals in February, we will be having the qualifiers next week to select players to represent the zone at the finals.
“We have four states; FCT, Kwara, Niger, and Plateau for the boys’ category, while Kogi, Kwara, and Plateau will participate in the girls’ event.
“Registration for the qualifiers is still ongoing, and plans are still in top gear.
“This time around, we are expecting to see younger players as it would be difficult for people to falsify their age. We are using the National Identity Number (NIN),’’
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