Following the recent success of Nigeria’s female Under-19 team at the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, the nation is gearing up to host the 6th edition of the National Under-17 Cricket Championship for boys and girls. This year’s tournament will feature a zonal qualification series across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Over the years, the championship has grown into the largest age-grade tournament in Nigeria and beyond, paving the way for the next generation of cricket stars to don the prestigious ‘Green and Yellow’ kits of Nigeria. The first five editions have seen a remarkable increase in participation, with the inaugural tournament featuring 19 states in the boys’ category and 15 in the girls’. Following a slight uptick in 2021 after the Covid-19 pandemic, participation rose to 21 states for boys and 17 for girls.
The popularity of the tournament surged in 2022, with 25 states entering the boys’ category and 21 in the girls’. This trend continued in 2023 and 2024, culminating in a record-breaking 33 states participating in the boys’ category and 29 in the girls’ during the fifth edition, which saw a total of 3,290 players and 928 coaches involved, alongside over 450 officiating roles filled across the five editions.
The upcoming 6th edition is poised to set new participation records, with Yobe, Adamawa, and Bauchi in the North East making their debut, while Benue State in the North Central will finally join the fray after years of absence from cricket, fielding a boys’ team for the zonal qualifiers.
According the organisers, the zonal qualifiers are scheduled as follows: North Central, (FCT, Abuja), North East (Borno State) and North West (Kaduna) will hold from February 8 to 12, 2025, while South-South (Asaba) and South West (Lagos) are scheduled for February 6 to 10, 2025, South East (Ebonyi State) will hold **: February 7 to 11, 2025.
