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.

Austin Eguavoen

Nigeria Football Federation Head of Technical Department, Austin Eguavoen has disclosed that in as much as the Super Eagles qualify for any major tournament, they will always be among the teams to beat.

Eguavoen disclosed that Super Eagles pedigree and the current form of its players in Europe make it difficult to overlook Nigeria and that he is optimistic about the chances of the team in Morocco later in the year at the 2025 African Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The e former Super Eagles’ captain and coach, however, noted that Nigeria must be wary of their opponents in Group C if they want to progress in the competition.

“On paper, Super Eagles look very good in Group C. The AFCON draw is okay for Nigeria on paper. The team must prove it on the field,” Eguavoen disclosed. “Nothing is easy, especially in the world of sports, football to be precise. If you don’t prepare very well, you will get a shocking defeat.

“If you want to be champion, you should be ready to play any team and win. No more minors in football.

“Personally, i am happy with the AFCON draw, the players, the Federation are equally happy.

“It is up to us to plan very well, prepare very well for and do the job by taking it game after game,” he said.

In a related development, former striker, Emmanuel Emenike, has backed newly coach Eric Chelle to turn  the Super Eagles around.

Emenike, a 2013 AFCON winner, believes that Chelle has what it takes to succeed with Nigeria, adding the Franco-Malian is condemned  to prove his mettle.

“I think he (Chelle) will do well because he has a lot of things to prove. They left a lot of local coaches to employ him. I believe he has so much and a lot to offer the country,”  Emenike  who scored nine goals for the Super Eagles , said.

He also stated that Chelle has a lot of good and game-winning players in the squad who will go on to make things easier for him.

“We have a lot of players who can win games. Osimhen can win games, he’s a fighter. We have Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, and many more in the team who can win games. I believe that with a little bit of hard work and if they can tell themselves the truth, they can go far.”

Speaking on Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Emenike said the possibility of qualifying is 50-50.

“I will go 50-50 for that. We’re in a very shaky situation,” the Fenerbahce legend said.