Sports

Japan Pledges Support for Anti Doping Campaign

Published

5 years ago

February 8, 2022

… Offers Scholarship Opportunities to Nigerian Youth

Nigeria and Japan are set to deepen their bilateral relations with stronger and deeper collaborations in Sports and Youth Development.

The Japanese Government is offering scholarship opportunities to Nigerian youth and pledging support for the country’s anti doping campaign.

Both countries are also seeking to promote cooperation in information technology that will be mutually beneficial to their youth and sports development.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare in his office at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, on Monday, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Matsunaga Kazuoshi said both countries have a lot to benefit by working together.

According to him, hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic games has given his country a better perspective about the value of sports.

“We appreciate your presence in Tokyo for the Olympics and Paralympic games,” Mr Kazuoshi told the Youth and Sports Development Minister Sunday Dare.

“And we want to build on the benefits of hosting these games to promote cooperation between Japan and Nigeria.
“We have sports equipment donated by Kizarazu City and some sports federations for the sports federations in Nigeria,” he added.

The Ambassador also stated that the Japanese Anti Doping Agency(JADA) is willing to provide online education that will help Nigeria deal with the doping issues in her sports.

In the area of youth development, Mr Kazuoshi said the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan runs a scholarship programme that has over 230 Nigerians among its beneficiaries, while another initiative, the Abe initiative, founded by Shinzo Abe, their former Prime Minister, provided internship opportunities for students in the private sector, stressing that Nigerian students could benefit from both programmes.

In his response, the Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare said seeking to strengthen diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Japan using sports and youth development would turn out as the best decision by both countries.

The Minister said Nigeria is working hard to improve her anti doping status and so would take advantage of the online education to be provided by JADA to create more awareness as well as provide more information about doping issues to her athletes.

Dare further stated that the Federal Government, through the Ministry will ensure that only qualified and genuine students are recommended for the scholarship programmes in Japan.
“Tokyo 2020, both the Olympics and the Paralympics, have had positive impact on our athletes. Since participating in the Tokyo Games, most of them have become better.
“In the last two weeks, a lot of our student athletes who were in Japan have improved on their personal best records. Our Table Tennis Champion has moved up to 13th from 15th in the world rankings. All these are the Tokyo Olympics impact.
“On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, we want to thank Japan for hosting us and the rest of the world,” Dare added.
The Japanese Ambassador was accompanied on the visit by the Head of Culture and Information in the Embassy of Japan, Ms Nami Nakayoshi and the Ambassador’s Special Assistant, Mr John Nwankwo, a Nigerian.
Present at the meeting for the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development were the Director of Sports Medicine, Dr Paul Onyeudo, the Deputy Director, Anti Doping, Mrs Fadeke Adebola and the Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister on Policy, Mr Olumide Bamiduro.

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Sports

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

Published

16 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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