Alaro City brings Nigeria women’s cricket across the line

Alaro City, Lagos’s new city in the Lekki Free Zone, announced a partnership with the Nigeria Cricket Federation to support the Women’s Tournament Ovals Games International in Lagos on March 25 to April 3, 2023.

Alaro City is a new city for Lagos planned on 2,000 hectares in the Lekki Free Zone, the logistics and commercial hub of West Africa. It is located along the Lekki-Epe Expressway and it is in close proximity to the completed Lekki Deep Sea Port and the proposed international airport.

Uyi Akpata, president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation while commending Alaro City’s sponsorship said, “Nigeria’s women’s national team is one of the most improved on the continent in recent times, and the rate of adoption and investment in women’s cricket across the country makes the event a major part of our development agenda.”

Yomi Ademola, managing director of Alaro City, said the company believes in empowering women and girls which is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal in communities where Rendeavour cities are located.

Ademola added that “Alaro City’s commitment to building a sustainable future is reflected in our support for local and national initiatives with impact that transcends generations.”

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The Nigeria Cricket Federation, apart from winning a global award for its development efforts in 2022, also commissioned a turf wicket at the Iyoba College (an all-girls school in Benin City) to drive deeper adoption of the game of cricket.

The president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Akpata also said: “From our deliberate investment in women and girls, we have a retinue of new talents challenging virtually every established player in the national team.

“Just like last year, where we had some Under 19 players represent the country and also prove themselves at the maiden event, we may be having new challengers for the supposed established players in the national teams,” Akpata added.

The tournament, in its second year, feature players from Gambia, Cameroon, Ghana, Botswana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

In the 2022 tournament, the Rwanda Women’s National Team beat Nigeria to win at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos.

The event also featured Ghana, Sierra Leone and Gambia, who used the event to stake their claim for ranking points on the International Cricket Council T20i log.

Akpata said that this year’s event will feature all the teams that participated in 2022, with Cameroon as a first-time entry.

Alaro City’s support will also contribute to ensuring that both Tafawa Balewa Square and the University of Lagos Ovals are being put in the best shape as the two host venues.