Sports

Ex volleyball player commends Nimrod for reviving volleyball back in Nigeria

Published

5 years ago

December 16, 2021

Ex Volleyball player, Omolola Aina, on Wednesday in Abuja has commended the president of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) Musa Nimrod, for reviving the sport back in Nigeria.

Aina disclosed this to newsmen after donating more than 500 items ( towels, bags and Tshirt) to players, coaches, referees, stakeholders and board members to support the Federation in the ongoing second phase of the Premier League

Aina said she has witness the games since beginning on Sunday there is a great improvement in the standard of the game.

“This is just a motivation for the players. I believe if they are happy and they see what I have been doing they also will be able to do such in future.

“During our era the standards was higher than this present Volleyball. I thanks the president of NVBF for his efforts trying to revived the volleyball in Nigeria back.

‘I have seen some talented players and I have talk them, I believe that if they continue like this they will go places and it takes determination, discipline, passion and hard-work to achieve a desire dream.

“I believe with what I did they (players) also in future will support the national team anytime they are been invited to come home,” she said

According to her, The Ministry of Youth and Sports development can revive the method of bring foreigner coaches to work together with our coaches not only in Volleyball alone but to all others sports.

“I believe that bringing others coaches from outside the country to work with the coaches here it is a plus because outside the country we have enough opportunities they could shared among our coaches here and things will work well.

“We use to discovered players in secondary schools, those days the sports councils and sports commission use to rally round for programs but now a days we don’t have such things again,” she said.

She said some of her colleagues who are ex volleyball players are also contributing to the development of the sports in all the state of the Federation.

“Some of them are donating balls, equipments and finance,some event are building Volleyball court in their state.

“We are want to see the sport improving and developing in Nigeria, and that is common goal we all share,” she said.

The president of NVBF urges other ex volleyball players to emulate Aina in contributing and supporting in the development of the sport in the country.

“I am happy for all she did for these players, she has done well I pray that God will continue to lift her up and support her .God will continue to strengthen her from strength to strength

“She has partners with NVBF, it’s a good idea and we welcome more of her type to come out and partners with NVBF.

“The Federation is open for more support and great thing of this type. I call on players and coaches that they too can also do such in future.

“We didn’t stopped anyone and they are all welcome to support and to partner,” the president said.

that a total of 17 teams ; 10 male and seven female teams are participating in the ongoing 2021 premier league.

reports that the is the final phase Volleyball Premier League which started on Sunday and is expected to end on Dec.21.at the Moshood Abiola Stadium package b. Abuja

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Sports

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

Published

8 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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