The Local Organising Committee (LOC) charged with hosting the International Cricket Council’s U-19 Division 2 World Cup Qualifier in Abuja has expressed the country’s readiness for the event.
Chairman of the Committee, Ogbonnaya Okogeri, said preparations for the success of the 10-day event taking place on September 30 to October 9, are in the advanced stage.
“The two pitches, that have been designated for the matches are in their final phase of upgrade and the level of maintenance required of such an international event,” he said.
“Beyond the strips and the field outlays, the stands, access, and the scoreboards have been upgraded and the last phase of works on the facilities are expected to be rounded off in time for the kick-off of the event on September 30th.
“We are on time on all our preparations and working with a fully motivated team gives us an advantage of taking care of other issues as they come up,” he added.
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He said the eight countries scheduled for the event are expected to arrive in Abuja on September 28.
The countries expected at the event include Kenya, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, and host Nigeria.
The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) said the hosting is an affirmation of the investment that they have done in upgrading all the facilities across the country in recent times to turf wickets.
General Manager, Emeka Igwilo, revealed that more cricket ovals that have been upgraded to turf wickets put the country in a position to host more world-class events including Word Cup Qualifiers.
“I think hosting the event is also helping us build capacity for event hosting of this magnitude. The Federation is building a template for that and that is what the quality of our turf wickets will be earning for us,” he said.