Head coach of the Yellow Greens and high-performance manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Steve Tikolo, has confirmed that the men’s national team will participate in an international tournament in Uganda later this month as part of their preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifiers.
The tournament, known as the ILT20 Cup, will run from July 13 to 30 in Kampala, Uganda. It will serve as a key build-up for the team ahead of the final qualifiers scheduled for September 28 to October 4 in Zimbabwe, where Nigeria will face Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Botswana in their quest for a 2026 ICC T20 World Cup ticket.
Tikolo, a former captain of the Kenyan national team, expressed satisfaction with the team’s current form and cohesion during their ongoing camp at the Tafawa Balewa Square Oval in Onikan, Lagos, where 21 players are undergoing intensive training.
“The progress is good in terms of our training, and we also have an international tournament coming up before the qualifiers. This will allow us some time to build on our momentum from the last qualifiers,” Tikolo said.
“The cohesion has been great, especially now that most of our players have been exposed to leagues outside Nigeria, particularly in Zimbabwe. We hope to build on all of these,” he added.
Nigeria booked a place in the final qualifying round after emerging champions in the Africa Sub-Region C Qualifier last year, under Tikolo’s leadership.
Reflecting on his journey since taking over in October 2023, the coach said: “The last two and a half years have been productive, not just with the men’s national team but with other age-grade teams as well, especially the females. ”
” I wanted to say the journey has been slow and steady, but with the progress we’ve made, I dare say we are on a fast lane and getting closer to our objectives as a country.”
The 2026 ICC T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka between February and March.
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