Joel Ajayi 

The NCF National Under-17 Cricket Championship for Boys and Girls powered by PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC), ended successfully across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country.

The 6th edition of the tournament witnessed an expansion to 36 states participating in the event reaching a new record attendance as new talents were discovered across the country, highlighting hope for the next generation of superstars as well as the evidence of the impact of the NCF grassroots development initiative. Yobe and Adamawa states in the North East were the pinnacle of our success story,  after years of battling with the challenges of insecurity and the ripple effect from insurgency in that region, cricket finally made a breakthrough.

 *SOUTH WEST*
Lagos state dominated the South West qualification by winning the gold medal in both boys and girls category. Oyo and Ogun State finished as runner’s up and 3rd place respectively while in the the girls category, Oyo and Ogun State reversed roles in the table standings.

 *SOUTH EAST*
In the south East, Imo State continued to maintain dominance in the boys category while Anambra and Ebonyi State finished 2nd and 3rd on the log. Ebonyi State also were unbeaten in the girls category to stand above all in first place while Anambra and Abia finished 2nd and 3rd to round off the games.

 *SOUTH – SOUTH*
A little shift in  power was recorded in the South-South qualification as Delta State recorded their first win over Edo in as many attempts to win the top spot in the girls category while Edo and Akwa Ibom state shared the 2nd and 3rd position accordingly. Edo state wasn’t ready to surrender their dominance in the boys category as they recorded a comfortable victory in the finals against Delta State and Akwa Ibom settled for 3rd position.

 *NORTH CENTRAL*
Power completely changed hands in the North central zone as Niger state emerged champions in the boys category after suffering a close defeat to Kwara State in the last edition. Benue State, making their first appearance, surprisingly took the 2nd spot while Kogi state settled for 3rd position. The girls category saw the roles reversed with Kogi State taking the first position followed by Kwara state and FCT finishing in 3 place.

 *NORTH WEST*
Kaduna State maintained their impressive record in the North West by winning both the boys and girls category as expected while kebbi state won 2nd position, signaling their first medal in the tournament while Zamfara State finished 3rd position in the boys category. Sokoto State was the surprise runner up in the girls category and Kebbi state signed off in 3rd position.

*NORTH EAST*
Perhaps the biggest shocker from the zonal qualification series came from the North East zone as Adamawa state who made their debut appearance emerged champions in the boys category and youth game medalist Taraba State finished as runner up while Gombe State finished in 3rd position. The girls category finished with Gombe State winning the standing and Borno state finished 2nd as only 2 female states participated in that region.

The finals of the tournament is set to take place in Abuja from the 5th – 10th of March 2025.

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