The National Sports Commission (NSC) has approved a foreign training tour in India for the Nigeria U-19 Women’s cricket team.

The team are currently preparing to feature at this year’s ICC U19 Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup, slated for Malaysia from January 18, 2025.

The director-general of the NSC, Hon, Bukola Olopade, revealed that the commission is working closely with the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) in the area of logistics, technical and financial support to ensure Nigeria puts up a good outing at the World Cup.

Olopade in a press statement signed by his media aide Kola Daniel, said: “Starting the year with Nigeria’s maiden participation at the Cricket World Cup for our U19 girls is a big deal for us at the commission and we are not taking it for granted at all.”

“This is a big deal because it is the very first time Nigeria will ever feature at any level of a cricket World Cup which also shows the level of silent work that the president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata and his team are doing in the sport which many people don’t even know about.”

“Myself and the chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, are even more excited about this World Cup because it fits into our ‘Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria Sports Economy’, campaign of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, where young girls can be taken off the street and are well engaged to make a livelihood from Sports participation.

“These are young girls of 19 years of age , set to represent our great nation at the biggest stage of World U19 cricket, therefore they need all the support both from Nigerians and the media”.

“Arrangements are on the ground for them to travel to India for a training tour already and from where they will proceed to Malaysia for the World cup”, he concluded.

Nigeria is among the four countries that will be making its debut, from the sixteen Nations that will feature in this year’s World Cup.Other debutants are

Samoa, Nepal and host Country Malaysia.

India are the defending champions, beating England in the final of the last edition in 2023 in South Africa.