Nigeria wins T20 World Cup qualifier

Nigeria have won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C, defeating Botswana by a convincing margin of 77 runs.

Nigeria and Botswana have secured their place in the next round of qualifiers for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C was hosted by Nigeria, and the home team dominated throughout. Key performances from players like Selim Salau and Isaac Danladi were instrumental in the host's success.

Nigeria Cricket Federation president Uyi Akpata expressed his delight with the team's performance and the successful hosting of the tournament.

He highlighted the potential for Nigeria to become a major cricketing nation and revealed the importance of continued investment in the sport.

“We are excited to have hosted these countries; Botswana, Cote D’Ivoire, Eswatini, St. Helena and Sierra Leone. I believe the quality of our grounds and our organization clearly have communicated our readiness to host more top class cricket events,” Akpata said.

Meanwhile, the Director General of the Nigeria Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, at the event said the victory is a perfect ending to a brilliant showing of all the team at Nigeria Cricket Federation led by Uyi Akpata.

He said, “I am very impressed at the level of professionalism displayed and this is what we encourage as a Commission. Nigeria didn’t just qualify and win the event, the team that staged this event has shown leadership and professionalism and we are proud of them.

“We must commend the leadership of Nigeria Cricket Federation. Our Under girls would be at the Cricket World Cup in Malaysia in January, and now our boys are through to the last stage of the 2025 T20 Men’s World Cup. They deserve all the support we can give them. And as a commission we are determined to give support to other sports other than the popular ones,” the NSC DG said.

Nigeria joins other African teams like Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, and Uganda in the next stage of the qualification process for the 2026 T20 World Cup.