The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), in a statement, said
the team flew in from Zimbabwe where they had been on a 10-day pre-tournament
tour in preparation for the championship.
It said the winners of the event would pick the last
available ticket for the continent to the ICC U-19 Cricket Championship in
2022.
According to NCF, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and
hosts Rwanda would compete in the eight-day tournament which begins on
Thursday.
Nigeria’s coach, Uthe Ogbimi, according to the statement,
said he was optimistic about their chances, adding that the team was well
prepared and would be take it one game at a time.
“We are going to this ICC Under-19 Africa World Qualifiers
as the defending champions and that puts a lot of attention on us. We know
that. But our plan is to take every game on their 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,” he said.
Nigeria’s opening match at the event is billed for Friday
against hosts Rwanda, before taking on Tanzania on Sunday.
The Junior Yellow Greens will face Uganda on Monday before
closing the event against Namibia on Wednesday.
The Junior Yellow-Greens is captained by Boniface Oche.
Other team members include; Prosper Useni, Ridwanulahi Mohammed, Victor Ipoli,
Destiny Chilemanya, Nzube Nwokike, Ridwan Kareem, Lukman Kofoworola, Joshua
Sunday, Talabi Odunayo, Paul Pam, Huzaifa Abdulsalam, Theophilus Jeremiah,
Isaac Onyemgba, Udekwe Chiemelie, and Elochukwu Ndubudem.
Nigeria’s opening match at the event is on Friday, October
1st against host Rwanda before taking Tanzania on Sunday, October 3rd. Uganda’s
encounter is set for Monday 4th before closing the event on a high against
Namibia on Wednesday 6th
Winners of the qualifying series will take up the African
spot at the 2022 U-19 Cricket World Cup scheduled for West Indies.
South Africa and Zimbabwe have already booked spots at the
event, along with 13 other teams across the world.