Preparations are underway for Nigeria’s women’s U-19 cricket team, known as the Junior Female Yellow Greens, as they get ready for the 2025 U-19 T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda, according to a report from PUNCH Sports Extra.
The tournament, now in its second edition, will take place from January 8 to February 2, 2025, in Malaysia and will feature 16 teams.
Originally slated to compete in a two-group tournament with seven teams each, Nigeria found themselves in the top division after the inclusion of Zimbabwe led to the reshuffling of the groups.
The Junior Female Yellow Greens are now competing in Division 1 of the Africa Qualifiers, which kicked off in Rwanda with seven countries participating in a round-robin format in Division 2 – Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone.
Division 1, slated for September 23 to 29 in Kigali, Rwanda, will see Nigeria, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe contending. The top two teams from Division 2 will join them for the final tournament.
The victor of the Division 1 qualifier will secure Africa’s second spot in the Malaysia tournament, joining South Africa, New Zealand, and Samoa in Group C of the World Cup finals.
Training for the Nigerian team has been ongoing at the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s High-Performance Centre in Benin City, Edo State. They will conclude their preparations in Lagos before heading to Rwanda.