The Future of Cricket Looks Bright for Nigeria
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
Nigeria’s Under-19 Women’s Team Create Hope for Cricketing Youth
Nigeria's Under-19 women’s cricket team became the first to represent the nation at an ICC major event during the T20 World Cup 2025 earlier this year, and the Female Yellow Greens captured the hearts of onlookers when they took down giants New Zealand to progress beyond the group stage before securing a thrilling six-run Super 6 victory over Ireland to bow out of the competition in true style.
Like many countries within the Commonwealth, cricket was introduced to Nigeria by British colonial rulers during the 19th century. However, it wasn’t until 1957 that the nation established a unified cricket association, and it took a further 45 years before Nigeria became an Associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2002. The slow pace of progress was understandable, though, given that cricket struggled to gain widespread popularity above football and basketball. But things are changing, and the sport is now experiencing a surge like never before. You can see this growing interest now with Nigerian bookmakers offering cricket betting.
Uyi Akpata, the President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), recently expressed strong optimism that cricket will soon rise to become one of the nation’s top three sports. In an interview with the ICC following Nigeria’s impressive performance at the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, Akpata praised the team’s remarkable achievements, which he described as surpassing all expectations. He also emphasised that the success of the U-19 women’s team has sparked a surge of interest in cricket across Nigeria, significantly boosting the sport's profile and helping to strengthen the cricket brand within the country.
These sentiments were echoed by the captain of the Nigeria Men’s cricket team, Sylvester Okpe, who also revealed his satisfaction with the progress the sport has made throughout 2024 while expressing his hopes for an even brighter future. He said:
“Cricket has been going well in this country. It’s something that is growing fast, and it will be great to see top-quality players representing Nigeria on the global stage.”
Through a well-coordinated grassroots development initiative, Nigerian cricket is making the sport accessible to even the most remote areas of the country. Across regions, many schools are rapidly embracing this initiative to integrate cricket into their curricula, as seen in the Zamfara State, where over 15,000 students have enrolled in cricket programs. While states like Edo, Delta and Bayelsa have already established themselves as powerhouses of cricket talent, other regions are now intensifying their efforts to produce a new generation of players, contributing to the country’s growing cricketing talent pool.
