TheCable

Nigeria has been named as one of the three African countries that cricket’s most prized silverware, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, will be making a stopover ahead of this year’s championship.

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday, Uyi Akpata, president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), said the trophy tour would arrive in Abuja on August 28.

“Nigeria will be a major stop for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy that is presently on Tour of 18 countries globally, and that is a major feat for us, being the second successive time that we would be hosting the tour,” he said.

“There are positive developments around the country and the Trophy Tour will only help add more spark to the already excited community we have here.”

According to Akpata, the trophy which will be coming from Uganda would be received by the board of the NCF and Nigeria cricket community in Abuja on August 29, after which it will be handed to John Enoh, the newly appointed minister of sports, and will be on display at the MKO Abiola Stadium.

The cricket federation president said the trophy will arrive in Lagos on August 30, to be received by Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu before being displayed at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval, cricket’s ground.

“I believe the back-to-back Trophy Tour of Nigeria, first in 2019 and now in 2023, shows how Nigeria, as an emerging cricket development nation, is key for the continent and this is an appreciation to those who have and are still sacrificing to see the sport attain an enviable height in Nigeria,” Akpata also said.

Nigeria has won four global developmental awards between 2019 and 2023, including qualifying for its first World Cup in 2019.