Nigeria beat favourites Uganda in Abuja to win the T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier and pick one of the two tickets to the next stage of the qualifier.

This is Nigeria’s first victory over Uganda after 13 failed attempts.

The tournament featured hosts Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique and The Gambia, who competed in a round-robin format at the twin cricket ovals in Abuja.

The Nigerian side, known as the YellowGreens, finished the Sub Regional Qualifier C unbeaten, topping the table with a perfect 10 points, while Uganda secured second place with 8 points.

Despite the loss, Uganda also booked their spot in the Africa Qualifier slated for October 2027.

Speaking after the final match, the captain of the YellowGreens, Chima Akachukwu, said there were shivers at some points during the final match, saying, “When defending, there were shivers because at some point, the game was as if it was shifting, but I kept on talking to the boys.”

“We keep fighting for every game, ball by ball until the last ball,” he said.

Looking ahead to the African qualifier next year, Akachukwu said the team has a clear mindset.

“The mindset is to keep winning every game that comes our way. So, we will keep training hard. The Nigerian Cricket Federation (NCF) has been doing so well. So, they will continue to do the good work,” he said.

On his part, Stephen Mangongo, the high-performance manager for NCF and head coach of the senior men’s team, commended the players for their performance.

“The boys have put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes. We’ve worked a lot on their fitness, mental toughness, and skills development. And without committed players, you don’t go anywhere,” he said.

He also commended the Federation for providing funds for the team’s training programmes, saying the team got all the support needed to succeed.

The NCF President, Dr Uyi Akpata, while commending the team for the feat, pledged the Federation’s continued support to take cricket to the next level in Nigeria.