World Cup qualifiers good for capacity development, says Okogeri

Ogbonnaya Okogeri, the Chairman Organising Committee of the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier that is being hosted in Abuja, has said the event is also being used to mentor and expose young cricketers around the country.

According to him about 35 cricketers, coaches and development officers were brought in by the Nigeria Cricket Federation to benefit from the exposure that hosting an event of this magnitude offers the country.

“It is very important that we use the opportunity that events like this provide and I am glad that the Federation through the board approved that some key stakeholders be brought in to fill some volunteering spots we have,” he said.“ It is very developmental and I believe while there are still room for improvement, this gives the tournament some form of legacy, especially in the form of capacity development.”

The volunteering opportunity was also available for scoring, media, branding and in some other technical aspects where they served as support for the main team.

“This initiative will be nice to be repeated for subsequent events and the experience explored and deployed for other local events.”