The women’s U-19 cricket team of Nigeria, known as the Junior Female Yellow Greens, is gearing up for the 2025 U-19 T20 World Cup Qualifiers in an extended preparation period due to the tournament’s rescheduling in Kigali, Rwanda.
The upcoming tournament, the second edition of its kind, is set to take place from January 8 to February 2, 2025, in Malaysia and will feature a total of 16 teams.
Originally slated to compete in a two-group tournament with seven teams each, Nigeria’s team found themselves in Division 1 of the Africa Qualifiers due to the late addition of Zimbabwe, leading to the formation of a new division with the top four sides.
The Africa Qualifiers have commenced in Rwanda, with seven countries participating in Division 2 in a round-robin format, including Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone.
Division 1, to be held in Kigali, Rwanda from September 23 to 29, will feature Nigeria, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The top two teams from Division 2 will join them in the final tournament.
The team that emerges as the winner of the Division 1 qualifier will secure Africa’s second spot at the Malaysia tournament. They will compete in Group C alongside South Africa, New Zealand, and Samoa.
The Nigerian team has been undergoing training at the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s High-Performance Centre in Benin City, Edo State. They are set to wrap up their preparations in Lagos before heading to Rwanda for the qualifiers.