Sports

National Principals Cup: Finals holds March 27th- 31 State Finalists emerge

Published

6 years ago

March 10, 2021

The National finals of the Principal’s Cup earlier scheduled for April 1st- 5th will now take place from March 27th- 31st.

According to the Chairman of the Main Organizing committee Dr Ademola Are” This change became necessary as we do not want distractions for the students writing their exams.The exams of the students must be given priority, we dont want the matches too close to their exams so that they can concentrate. Sports and education must go side by side and we want to always strike the right balance.”

Meanwhile, State champions have emerged in most of the states as the event gathers momentum nationwide.

Kwara State was among the first state to conclude the football event with Thomas Adewunmi Comprehensive College (TAICO) defeating Lasoju Comprehensive High School, Ilorin by a lone goal in the final played on Wednesday morning at the Ilorin Township Stadium.

TAICO secured a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Government High School, Ilorin with Kamaldeen Jelili scoring a brace with the other goals from Abdulganiyu Ibrahim and Abdulwahab Muktar completing the routing.

In Niger State, Zarumai Model School, Minna secured a 1-0 pipping of Day Secondary School, Maitube at the Maryam Babaginda Secondary School Minna playground to secure a place in the zonal finals.

Zarumai had defeated Day Secondary School, Tunga, 2-1 in the first semifinal, while Day Secondary School, Maitube, dispersed Day Secondary School, Bosso by 3 goals to 2.

In the South East, Government Secondary School, Afipko secured their zonal finals place in Ebonyi State following a 1-0 defeat of St Michaels Seminary School, Oshiri, in the state finals on Wednesday.

Government Day Secondary School, Unguwar Gwaza, will represent Zamfara State at the zonal finals in Jos after trouncing Government Day Secondary School, Sambo 4-1 to emerge the state champion.

In Gombe, Government Secondary School, Pantami defeated Government Arabic College to emerge Gombe State champions.

Action shifts to Lagos, Abuja, Osun, Taraba, Jigawa and of other states on Thursday, March 12th where the finals will take place.

There will also be action in table Tennis and Atheletics as schools slug it out for a place in the zonal finals culminating into the National Finals in Abuja.

Meanwhile, the nation may just have discovered a new predator for its football in Simeon Zakari who pumped in a whopping 5 goals in Folsa Academy 11-1 pounding of Government Science and Technical College in their quarter final encounter in Abuja.

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Sports

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

Published

20 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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