NCF HOLDS ICC-ACA LEVEL 1 COURSE IN AWKA

OVER the weekend in Awka, Anambra State, the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) held an ICC-ACA Level 1 coaching course for trainers and sports officers from within the state and its environs.

Declaring the event open at the Marble Arch, Awka, the Anambra State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nwando Obika, who represented the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Chinwe Anowai, said the state government was happy with the way the game was moving to the regions in recent time.

The Anambra State Government, she said, has always taken sports as one of its priorities for youth development, adding that the state government would always partner NCF to ensure that the game was sustained and developed in the state.

Appreciating the effort of the state's cricket association and the teams' records, especially that of Bishop Crowther Seminary, Awka, at the national level, Obika solicited NCF's support in terms of equipment and technical know-how to ensure that the goodwill the game has brought to the state was not left to die.

Obika, who stated that one of the greatest problems teams and states have was getting cricket equipment in Nigeria, appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC), African Cricket Association (ACA) and NCF to always extend this kind of programme to the regions as that would help develop the game fast.

Responding to the requests of the NCF and state association, she directed the director of sports to follow up the request for a provision of a piece of land for a cricket oval to sustain the game as the Anambra State Government does not toy with sports development.

In his address, the ICC resource person, Okon Ukong, assured the Anambra State Government that ICC, ACA and NCF were ready to ensure that the game was developed in all crannies of the nation.

He further called on the state to facilitate the provision of land for a cricket oval, saying the NCF would aid and also attract a lot of competitions to the state.