27th March, 2022
By Daniels Ekugo
Nigeria’s leading bank, Access Bank PLC has thrown its weight behind the NCF Women’s T20I Invitational that starts at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Cricket Oval on March 28, 2022, in Lagos.
Uyi Akpata, President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation said the partnership means a lot to the vision of the Federation and will help the drive the inclusion goal for the female gender to a new height in the sport.
“We are glad that a brand like Access Bank finds what we are doing as a good avenue to express their Women’s empowerment agenda and connect with the broader African communities where they operate. It’s a win-win for all parties, but more importantly as a Federation I am very glad that we can reach more people with our goal, with Access behind us.”
Group Head Corporate Communication of Access Bank, Amaechi Okobi, said that the Bank finds alignment between what the Cricket Federation has outlined and what the bank has as its values.
“As a Pan-African Bank, we always get excited when we see opportunities to connect with more of our customers across the continent. We have five African countries converging for this event and one common thing here apart from the game they have come play is Access Bank.” He added.
Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Rwanda Cricket Women all arrived Lagos and had practice rounds, ahead of the weeklong Women’s T20 Invitational Tournament that would be concluded on Sunday April 3rd, 2022.
Akpata said that the game is an expression of the growing interest being shown by female gender for the game of Cricket.
“We have a growing number of female Cricketers, the biggest we have had in the history of the game and it is driven by our renewed developmental agenda. And this event only goes to underscore the pattern and sustain the path we are on.
The opening match is between Nigeria and Sierra Leone, by 9:30am on Monday March 28th, to be followed by a Ghana, Rwanda tie later in the day.