April 16, 2018

Gabriel Gomez, a board member of the African Cricket Association (ACA), on Monday canvassed for regular regional championships to improve the profile of the sport in West Africa.

Gomez a former Sports Minister in Gambia made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the ongoing ICC World Twenty Qualifier A, holding in Lagos.

He stressed that regular competitions in the sub-region would help countries in West Africa to raise their game to the next level.

“The only way to develop cricket in the region is by having regular competitions among West African countries.

“The competitions may not necessarily be for our national teams, but we can have under age competitions to groom budding grassroots talents to fruition,’’ he said.

He, however, noted that inadequate funding was militating against the growth of the sport in the region.

The board member added that the ACA should reach out to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to fund some of its programmes.

“Getting funds to participate in regional competitions are expensive, in my country, the government provides support for cricket and that is why we can attend the ongoing qualifiers in Nigeria.

“We can tap sports funds from the ECOWAS Sports commission to run programmes in the region, and I believe that the Nigerian Government can help being a power house in the region,’’ he said.

NAN reports that Nigeria has recorded a convincing 55 runs victory over The Gambia in its second match played on Sunday, the country posted 176 runs for loss of five wickets in 20 overs.

Ghana also eased past Sierra Leone in its second match of the qualifiers, to set up the much anticipated showdown against arch rivals Nigeria.