Cricket Attracts over 100 Kids to the PwC National U17 Final

About 100 kids from different parts of the country, have been confirmed for the 5th edition of the PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) National Under-17 Cricket championship finals, scheduled for February 15th to 19th, 2024, in Abuja.

The Technical Director of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Joshua Eshua, hinted yesterday that the participants are drawn from the regional teams that emerged after the regional qualifiers concluded few weeks back.

According to him “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. Also, a number of states and regions also make 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 Under 17 Championship has become the biggest national event for budding stars, and the quality of the competition has also positioned it for growing traveling spectatorship among cricket enthusiasts.

“We have a lot of Cricket Club operators and youth development Cricket 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 mentioned that national team handlers, especially the national U-19 Male and Female coaches will find the event useful for beefing up their national squad.

The event to is to hold in the twin cricket ovals at Package ‘B’ of Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja while players are expected to begin to arrive on February 14th ahead of the first game on February 15th.

The Secretary General of the Federation, Mohammed Sanni, stressed that the sports ministry was in support of the project and particularly recognizes the impact the event has generated at the grassroots where cricket development has impacted the kids’ social life.