Sports

Sports, The Best Tool To Cripple Poverty In Nigeria-Amb. Olutoke

Published

5 years ago

February 8, 2022

…Launches Poverty Fighters Handball Club In FCT

Joel Ajayi

The group known as Creativity Poverty Chapter Squad of Abuja, has launched Handball club as well as the first-ever handball supporters club in the country to ameliorate the suffering of many young Nigerians.

At the official launching of Poverty Fighters Handball and supporters’ club, the CEO Creative Leaders’ Concept Limited, Amb. Dr. Edward Olutoke, said that sports is one of the best tool to cripple the monster called poverty in the country, if properly used.

Amb. Olutoke expressed that, the President Ikeja Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture said the poverty fighter squad is using three tools to fight poverty, which are agriculture, Housing and entertainment sports.

According to him, Nigeria was declared as the poverty capital of the world, it’s annoying that they can call a great nation like Nigeria such name, something is fundamentally wrong with that; that is why we are using everything to fight poverty.

“And one of such is sports because, we know it has the capacity to pull people out of poverty and we want to take handball to that level.

“Everything about sports should not be football that is why we are forming the Handball club called poverty fighters Handball club in FCT.

“We want to look at young guys who train endlessly and no headway, they are hopeless, we can put ourselves together and lift them up, that is what we are trying to do with the new team we are forming.

“They will be duly engaged, we are going to put them on salary.”

Talking about the innovation it will bring to Handball in FCT he said: “we have pushed some ideas to the association. The first thing we are going to do, is to turn old parade ground around, that place is like facilities in waste. “We are going to turn it around, I am sure work is going to start by next week to remodel the place and by the grace of God, that place will wear a new look by the end of April, God’s willing.” He said

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Sports

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

Published

18 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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