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After a 10-day pre-tournament tour in Harare, Zimbabwe, the Nigerian side flew into Rwanda on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. The ICC U-19 Africa World Cup Qualifier will see Nigeria battle for Africa’s last slot in the 2022 World Championship against the likes of the previous edition’s runner-up, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, and the host nation, Rwanda. Head coach of the Nigerian team, Uthe Ogbimi, has expressed confidence in his lads and is optimistic about their chances in Kigali. Despite being very confident of his boys, Ogbimi warned that there is no ordinary team as they plan to take it a game at a time.
‘We are going to this ICC U-19 Africa World Qualifier as the defending champion and that puts a lot of attention on us. We know that. Our plan is to take every game on its merit. Our most important game is our next game and we are primed to give our best to every game. No team at this event is ordinary and we hope to treat everyone with such respect.’ Uthe Ogbimi
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Nigeria will kick off their campaign in the tournament against hosts Rwanda on Friday, October 1, 2021, before confronting Tanzania on Sunday, October 3. The Junior Yellow-Green will play against Uganda on Monday, October 4, before wrapping up their outing on Wednesday, October 6, against Namibia. Champions of the eight-day tournament will take the last African slot for the 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. Zimbabwe and South Africa have already qualified for the tournament alongside 13 other nations. Captained by Boniface Oche, Nigeria will be banking on the likes of Ridwanulahi Mohammed, Victor Ipoli, Joshua Sunday, Nzube Nwokike, Isaac Onyemgba, Prosper Useni, Theophilus Jeremiah, Paul Pam, Ridwan Kareem, Destiny Chilemanya, Udekwe Chiemelie, Lukman Kofoworola, Elochukwu Ndubudem, Talabi Odunayo and Huzaifa Abdulsalam for continental glory. Source: THISDAY Featured Image Source: Channels TV
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