Eseigbe Makes Comeback for Kwibuka Tournament in Rwanda

Female Yellow Greens captain Favour Eseigbe is back in the squad after being out for almost a year. The team is getting ready for the 2026 Kwibuka Tournament in Rwanda, as reported by PUNCH Sports Extra.

Head coach Theophilus Ibodeme has called Eseigbe back into his final 14-player squad for the tournament. It is scheduled to take place from June 10 to 20 at the Gahanga Cricket Oval in Kigali.

Eseigbe became captain in 2024 after Blessing Etim retired. Her last match for Nigeria was at the 2025 Kwibuka tournament. She was surprisingly left out of the team in August 2025 before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Namibia. Her absence was mainly due to her drop in form and her focus on school.

As she returns, Eseigbe will lead 13 other players. These include Lilian Ude, experienced batter Salome Sunday, Christabel Chukwuonye, and Esther Sandy.

Wicketkeeper Sarah Etim will serve as vice-captain. She will be joined by Omosigho Eguakun, Shola Adekunle, Henrietta Mbam, Jessica Bieni, Deborah Bassey, Oseyende Omonkhobhio, Favour Effiong, and Rachael Samson.

One player missing from the squad is Lucky Piety. Piety led the team to victory at the Patricia Kambarami Cup in Lagos earlier this year while Eseigbe was away.

The 14 players chosen for the tournament were picked from 24 who participated in the first phase of training. This phase lasted 10 days at the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s High Performance Centre in Benin City, Edo State.

The players took part in six trial matches to check their performance, fitness, and team combinations before the final selection.

Instead of moving to Lagos for the final stage of training, the team decided to stay in Benin City to sharpen their skills before the tournament.

In this year's competition, Nigeria will compete against hosts Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Brazil, and Malawi.

The Female Yellow Greens will kick off the round-robin phase with a match against Malawi on Wednesday, June 10.

Ibodeme hopes to make another impact at this year’s Kwibuka Tournament after leading the Female Yellow Greens to the Patricia Kambarami Cup title earlier this year.