Young African stars set to battle at U19 Men’s Regional Cricket qualifier
Tanzania is the venue for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier from 23 July. Eight tournament days will see six teams compete for the solitary spot at the main event in Sri Lanka in January 2024.
The best young cricketers on the African continent will take to the stage over eight tournament days, all eyeing the ultimate prize of securing a spot at the global showpiece event in January.
13 teams have already booked their tickets for Sri Lanka 2024, including Nepal and New Zealand, who joined the 11 automatically qualified nations by virtue of winning their respective regional Qualifiers in Asia and EAP earlier this year.
Taking to the field in Tanzania will be the most promising talent from six countries. Competing for the solitary spot available in the Africa Qualifier will be three teams that progressed from last year’s Division 2 Qualifiers; Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, along with Namibia, Uganda, and the host nation.
Speaking ahead of the event, ICC Africa Regional Development Manager Patricia Kambarami said, “The region has a long history of producing exceptional young talent at these events, and with so much at stake at the Africa Qualifier, there will be plenty of drama once more.
“Tanzania will be host to nations such as Uganda and Nigeria that have qualified for the U19 Men’s World Cup through this pathway in recent memory, as well as others who will be aiming to taste World Cup cricket for the very first time. With all teams hungry for the solitary spot, it is no doubt set to be a competitive, exciting tournament.”
Hamisi Abdallah, the Chief Executive Officer of Tanzania Cricket Association, added, “We are excited and feel honoured to host an event of such magnitude for the next generation of cricketers.”
“Our facilities are in good shape and the other logistics are going on well off the field. The preparations are in the final stages. We are hopefully going to deliver a quality tournament.”
“We look forward to an exciting event as we get to showcase what Tanzania has to offer.”
ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 Qualification Structure
16 teams will be competing at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024 over 41 matches. 11 teams automatically qualified for the event as the best-placed Full Member nations from the previous event in 2022. These are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
The remaining five spots will be determined through regional qualification pathways, with one team from each region securing a place at the event.
Americas and EAP each host one qualifying event in 2023, with the winner of each event sealing a spot at the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024.
The Africa, Asia and Europe regions each have a two-step qualification structure. These regions hosted Division 2 Qualifiers in 2022 to determine the teams that will compete in the second and final qualifying event, the Regional Qualifier, with events taking place in 2023.
Only the winning teams from the Regional Qualifiers will qualify to compete at the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024.
Asia and EAP Qualifiers have already been held this year, with Nepal and New Zealand winning respectively, thereby securing their place at the U19CWC.
Remaining ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Regional Qualifiers
Africa Regional Qualifier – 23-30 July, Tanzania
Participating Teams: Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda
Europe Regional Qualifier – 6-12 August, Netherlands
Participating Teams: Guernsey, Italy, Jersey, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland
Americas Regional Qualifier – 11-17 August, Canada
Participating Teams: Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Suriname, USA
