Cricket: Over 300 girls expected at criiio festival

Over 300 girls are set to participate in the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s (NCF) Women’s criiio Festival scheduled for Friday in Abuja.

Ehis Uadiale, the NCF coordinator for the event, announced at a press briefing that the festival, sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), aims to promote cricket among women.

Uadiale also highlighted that Nigeria and Tanzania were the only African nations chosen to lead this initiative ahead of the National Women’s Championship.

“In 2023, the NCF was awarded the Best Female Initiative Programme by the ICC, and it was from efforts to introduce the sport to over 25,000 girls in Zamfara.

“Following the national women’s team success at the African Games in Ghana and the women’s qualification to the U19 World Cup in Malaysia, the ICC also found Nigeria worthy to pilot the criiio programme.

“criiio is a concept by ICC. It is a modified way of playing cricket out of the usual hardball cricket. criiio means you can play cricket anywhere, even in your living room.

“With the aim of spreading the game to the female folk, Nigeria and Tanzania were selected among countries in Africa to pilot the programme,” Uadiale said.

The NCF official also added that the festival would be replicated in other parts of the country to raise awareness of the game.

“We are looking at infusing the criiio festival with the ongoing women’s championship since it is about women.

“We are inviting schools with over 300 girls expected to participate. Even representatives of the ICC will be present at the event. It is going to be fun, exciting, and worth the time.

“We are also going to replicate this in other parts of the country, but we are using Abuja to launch the programme.”

According to the ICC, “criiio is a celebration of the many ways cricket is played around the world. You can play in a park, in the street, on a beach, or in a hall, using any type of bat and ball to play. It’s up to you!

“What is the difference between criiio and cricket?

“criiio is cricket played your way. Traditional cricket is played with a hard ball and between teams of eleven-a-side. Criiio celebrates all of the creative and adaptive ways that cricket is being played around the world.”

Uadiale continued: “For us, this is a pat on the back from the ICC because we have raised the bar high in terms of grassroots development, especially for women’s cricket, and we only hope to keep improving,’’ he said.

On her part, Adaora Sdyney-Jack, the brand ambassador for women’s cricket, said the success of the women’s game has ushered in more partners for the federation.

“Nigeria is seen as a priority country by the ICC, and this is due to the success of the women’s game, but then we have filled in the gaps that border around the right partnership, welfare, and intervention for the female players.

“We have had a lot of inroads and calls from partners, and by January 2025, we are looking at three new major partners.

“I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but they are very huge.

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“Some of them will be attending the criiio festival but the priorities are not just for the criiio festival or the women’s championship but also for the U19 World Cup in 2025,” Sdyney-Jack added.

On his part, Sani Mohammed, the secretary general of the federation, welcomed all participating teams to the women’s championship, admonishing them on the rules of fair play.

Teams from Anambra, Edo, Kogi, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Ekiti, and Kaduna are participating in the tournament, which is expected to end on Sunday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

NAN