The Vice Chairman of the Edo State Cricket Association, Barr. Abraham Oviawe has described the 2025 Edo Men’s T20 Cricket League as a platform designed to develop local talent and strengthen the state’s dominance in Nigerian cricket, platinumnewsng.com reports.
Speaking to journalists at the kickoff of the league on Saturday at Iyoba’s college in Benin City, Oviawe said the annual event remains central to the association’s strategy of providing consistent match exposure for players across all categories — from youth levels to national team stars.
“It’s been a recurring decimal for us — our style of creating a platform for players in the male category to have several games,” Oviawe explained. “It’s a mix of those who play for the national team, the U19, and the U17. As long as you can find your way into any of the eight clubs, it helps us test-run the work the coaches have been doing over time.”
He noted that the 2025 edition features eight teams, including one from Delta State, with fixtures scheduled to hold every weekend at the Iyoba College and Adolor College Fields in Benin City.
“Every year, we congregate in this manner to create a platform for teams to play — seven from here and one from Delta,” he said. “It also serves as a diagnostic avenue for evaluating performance and making recommendations for the high-performance team.”
Oviawe revealed that the competition boasts at least eight national team players, alongside several others tagged as ‘overseas players’ — cricketers from outside Edo who currently represent Nigeria internationally.
“We allow a minimum of three ouch players per club,” he stated. “The whole idea is to have fun, and when we have fun, we develop the game and ensure they can compete at a high-performance level.”
He emphasised’s consistent contribution to the national cricket landscape, adding that the league continues to serve as a “headquarters” for discovering and nurturing quality players.
“This league has been one of our platforms where we harvest quality players,” Oviawe said. “It helps national selectors identify those who have improved and deserve possible invites.”
On the challenges confronting cricket in Nigeria, Oviawe admitted that the sport still struggles with popularity compared to others, but stressed that Edo’s outreach initiatives were bridging that gap.
“Like every other sport, there are limitations in terms of popularity,” he noted. “But through our continuous efforts — sending officers to various schools and introducing incentives — the game is becoming more popular in Edo State.”
He added that seminars and training programs have been instrumental in attracting new players, which he described as a “harvest of talent and passion” for the sport.
“The game itself is life, and once young people encounter it, they appreciate that it’s the game they want to play,” he said. “For us, it’s fun, it’s development, and it’s a means to drive growth as an association and as a state.”