By Ijeoma Okigbo
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has hailed the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for its efforts to improve facilities ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Qualifier C in Abuja.
Justin Ligyalingi, ICC Regional Manager for Africa, gave the commendation on Monday in Abuja after inspecting the facilities for the event.
He said significant work had been done since an earlier inspection by an ICC representative four months ago, expressing confidence in the facilities’ readiness to host the tournament.
“I had an opportunity to visit the facilities yesterday, and we must say that there has been a lot of work that has gone into them.
“We believe that the NCF has done a good job. Right now, the facilities are in a state where we think we will have a very good event,” he said.
Ligyalingi, however, noted that there was still room for improvement as the NCF continued to invest in cricket development.
He also expressed optimism about the growth of cricket across Africa, noting that the standard of the game had continued to improve at regional and international levels.
He attributed the progress to development initiatives and investments in high-performance cricket by member countries.
“Countries like Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda have done exceptionally well,” he said.
On the ongoing qualifier, Ligyalingi said the Abuja tournament was the third and final group stage in the qualification pathway, with six countries competing for two slots at next year’s Africa finals.
He explained that 20 ICC member countries were participating in the qualification process, divided into three groups.
According to him, the top two teams from each of the first two groups had already qualified for the Africa Finals, while the Abuja competition would determine the final two teams.
Ligyalingi added that two teams would advance from the Africa finals to the next stage of the qualification pathway for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Six teams; Uganda, Lesotho, Gambia, Zambia Mozambique and Nigeria are taking part in the competition beginning on Tuesday. (NAN)
Edited by Joseph Edeh
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