Cricketers prepare for 2023 PwC-NCF U-17 championship

The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), has announced the commencement of entry for its biggest youth event, the PwC-NCF National U-17 Cricket Championship, which zonal qualifiers will hold from January 20 to 30 at different venues across the country.

Obioma Ubah, Partner and Corporate Responsibility Leader at PwC Nigeria, the title sponsors of the championship, stated that this year’s edition will be the biggest in the annals of the event following the firm’s commitment to the partnership with NCF.

“The partnership we have with the Nigeria Cricket Federation has been very fruitful, and their engagement of the school-age children has been very phenomenal,” she said. “This has resulted in the continual growth of the championship, and it aligns with our societal purpose agenda of driving youth engagement and empowerment.”

About 1,000 boys and girls took part in the zonal qualifiers and national finals of the
2022 edition. More entries are being processed ahead of the January 20, 2023, qualifiers, which the Organising Committee Chairman, Tayo Sowole, has affirmed.

“The 2023 PwC-NCF National U-17 National Cricket Championship will reset the standard of the event going forward. First, the facilities for this year’s finals are far better than the previous editions. Secondly, there has been a lot of groundwork done in the last year across the regions, in terms of developmental works.” Sowole added.

Sowole also noted that the event, for the first time, has proved its potential as a pathway for developmental cricket in Nigeria, as several former participants were featured in the country’s senior national team late in 2022.