A 13-year-old Nigerian schoolgirl, Saidat Hamzat, has been recognised as the one-millionth participant in the International Cricket Council’s grassroots development programme, criiio.
According to The PUNCH, Hamzat, a Junior Secondary School 3 student of Ansar-Ud-Deen Girls High School, Itire, Lagos, discovered cricket after coaches introduced the sport to pupils at her school.
The milestone highlights Nigeria’s growing participation in cricket development programmes.
Schoolgirl recounts journey into cricket
Hamzat explained that she initially struggled to understand the game while watching coaches through her classroom window.
“I remember the first time I saw cricket. Some coaches came to our school to teach the game,” she recalled.
“I was in my classroom, and I kept looking at them through the window, wondering, ‘What are they really doing?'”
Her interest grew after she attended an ICC-supported cricket festival.
The student subsequently approached her games teacher and requested to join the school cricket team.
Since then, she has represented her school and encouraged classmates to participate in the sport.
Hamzat reveals challenges attending training
The teenager disclosed that transportation remains one of her biggest challenges.
She explained that her parents sometimes struggle to provide the money required for her journey to training sessions.
Despite the difficulties, Hamzat maintained that cricket had improved her confidence and discipline.
“Cricket has given me purpose, discipline and joy; it has changed my life,” she said.
Her mother, Aisha Hamzat, expressed pride in her daughter’s progress and said she hoped to see her represent Nigeria internationally.
ICC celebrates one million grassroots participants
The ICC disclosed that Nigeria accounts for more than 50,000 participants in the criiio programme.
The international organisation also reported that male and female participants were equally represented among the programme’s first one million participants.
ICC Chief Executive Officer Sanjog Gupta described the milestone as evidence that cricket could reach children outside its traditional strongholds.
The programme, launched in 2021, provides accessible cricket training resources for schools and communities.
Hamzat’s recognition places a Nigerian teenager at the centre of the organisation’s global participation milestone.
