The International Cricket Council (ICC) Africa has announced Nigeria as the regional winner of the Cricket Initiative of the Year 2023. The PwC Under-17 Cricket Championship, which has been the rallying point for Nigeria’s developmental initiative, won the award for the Uyi Akpata-led Nigeria Cricket Federation.
According to the ICC statement, the award recognizes the outstanding development initiative delivered during the year, and the regional winners include the Nigeria Cricket Federation, whose Under-17 Cricket Championship continues to provide competitive playing opportunities for boys and girls across the country.
In his reaction to the award, the President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, expressed his delight, stating that the award celebrates the power of collaboration. He acknowledged that PwC and several partners took a gamble on the federation’s developmental initiatives, and the results are now being recognized on a global dimension.
In recent years, Nigeria has been a recipient of other ICC awards, including the “Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year” for the federation’s developmental activities at the IDP camp in Edo State and the “100% Female Cricket Initiative of the Year” for the massive girl-child enrolment initiative in Zamfara State.
The Nigerian women’s team has also been on a steady rise, climbing from 39th on the global ranking to 26th in four years, culminating in the country winning the Bronze medal at the African Games in Ghana a few weeks ago.
The ICC’s recognition of Nigeria’s efforts has been encouraging, and it will only spur the team of passionate cricket development officers and the Board of the Federation to go further, according to Akpata.
Sam Abu, the Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria, the sponsors of the U17 Cricket tournament, expressed pride in the global recognition of their joint initiative with the Nigeria Cricket Federation. He believes that the game has the potential to galvanize, empower, and equip the youths of Nigeria for global impact.
Sierra Leone and Namibia are also associate nations that won regional honors for the year in review by the International Cricket Council.
