Sports

Youth Ministry to Partner UNFPA On Youth Empowerment

Published

6 years ago

February 23, 2021

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is to collaborate with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to initiate and implement programmes that would enable youth to realize their potentials for national development, even as the Ministry is committed to actualizing the thematic contents of the National Youth Policy to create champions of youths.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare made this commitment when the Country Director of the UNFPA, Ms. Ulla E. Mueller paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

The Minister stressed that the youth policy is well-grounded on education, health, inclusiveness, politics, drug abuse etc which are in sync with the five key areas of UNFPA. ‘’ It is only proper that the Ministry collaborates with UNFPA on key areas to make champions of our youths by providing them opportunities and support to actualize their potentialities

The Ministry will work with you to sustain the momentum and expected outcome to re-engage and contribute counterpart funding’’, the Minister affirmed.

Towards the actualization of this mandate, a working Group comprising Officials from the Ministry and UNFPA would be constituted to consider areas of mutual benefits.

The Minister emphasized that efforts will be made to engage the National Bureau of Statistics to create a National Youth Data Base that will provide valuable demographic information on various professions for national youth development.

In her remarks, the Country Representative of UNFPA, Ms. Ulla E. Mueller assured that the international agency would cooperate and collaborate with the Ministry to actualize its vision and mandate for youth and gender development.

‘’To actualize our mandate, we have to work with your Ministry’’.

While acknowledging the purposeful initiatives and programmes of the Ministry to alleviate the socio-economic status of the youths, Ms. Mueller stated that the agency will leverage and synergize on the programmes to address issues of maternal health, safe delivery, youth inclusiveness, HIV and gender based violence among the youths.

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

14 hours ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.

Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.

In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.

The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.

At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.

According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.

“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.

Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.

He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.

The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.

He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.

“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.

Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.

The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.

According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.

The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.

It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.

The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.

He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.

“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.

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