President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, says the board is poised to build on the success of the country’s female U-19 team at the recently concluded ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, as a way of advancing the development of the game in the country.

Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens ended the tournament as the sixth-best nation, creating huge upsets against test-playing nations New Zealand and Ireland.

The team’s historic performance drew more attention to the game in Nigeria, and Akpata believes the NCF can achieve more by fostering strategic partnerships with brands and relevant stakeholders ahead of subsequent tournaments.

Having started the year on a bright note with the Junior Female Yellow Greens outing, NCF presidents noted that it was in line with the board’s strategic plans for the year.

“We redefined expectations as we went along and these girls deserve all the accolades they are getting. Having said that, this is not just happening by chance, it is four years in the making,” Akpata said at the reception organised by the NCF for the team last Friday.

“We have six targets. For the female team, we want to break into the top 20 in the world and the top 25 in the world for the male so that we can go and play in the Challenge League where we can play the ODI, that’s a different status.”

According to Akpata, the U-19 women’s team performance has aided the NCF’s plan to sell itself to potential partners.

“One of the key things again is that we now have a brand we can sell so we are going commercial. Let people also recognise that they can invest in the cricket brand. Before the World Cup, we got two requests from international companies including one in Costa Rica saying they want to have their names on our outfit. But I paused and thought I’d rather prefer a Nigerian brand. That’s what these girls have done. Hopefully, we will launch the Nigerian Super League this year as well.”

Other Nigerian national teams will also be in the mix to qualify for more World Cups this year, beginning with the men’s U-19 team, which will host other countries in Lagos by April. The men’s senior team are billed for the final phase of the men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers in November.

Quadri Aruna

 

The intense rivalry between Nigeria and Brazil in table tennis will be reignited as two of the best players from these nations, Quadri Aruna and Hugo Calderano, clash in the second round of the Men’s Singles at the WTT Singapore Smash 2025.

Exactly one year after their last encounter at the 2024 WTT Finals in Doha, the Nigerian star will face off against the Brazilian sensation in what promises to be an explosive match between continental champions.

Calderano holds a slight edge, having won two of their three previous meetings. However, Aruna has the psychological advantage, having triumphed in their most recent match in Doha.

Aruna began his campaign at the Singapore Smash 2025 with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over South Korea’s Oh Jungsun.

Despite losing the first game 8-11, the Nigerian turned the tide with an 11-8 win in the second game. The third game was closely contested, but Aruna’s fast-paced shots during the rally secured an 11-9 win.

On his part, Calderano dominated Portugal’s Marcos Freitas with a swift 3-0 win in the first round, securing his spot in the second round, where he will battle the African champion today.

With the exits of Egypt’s trio Omar Assar, Mohamed El-Beiali, and Youssef Abdelaziz, Aruna remains the only surviving African in the Men’s Singles.

In the Women’s Singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda celebrated her 17th birthday with a first-round win over Spain’s Maria Xiao.

Competing in her fifth WTT Grand Smash event, Goda aimed for her first-ever singles win on this prestigious stage. Facing Xiao for the first time, the Spaniard took the early lead, but Goda fought back to win 7-11, 13-11, 11-5, 12-10, marking another milestone in her budding career.

However, her compatriots Dina Meshref and Mariam Alhodaby were eliminated in the first round, leaving Goda as the only surviving African in the Women’s Singles. Goda will face China’s Ma Kuai in the second round, aiming to extend her stay in Doha.