Sports
Handball : NSCDC win two games in match Day nine at Prudent Energy Handball Premier League
Handball
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) handball clubs on Tuesday won both matches in female and male in the match Day nine ongoing 2022 Prudent Energy Handball League first phase in Abuja.
The NSCDC have both teams ,they features in male and female category.The male team is known as D: Defenders and the female team are known as Defenders Babes.
In the match Day nine played at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja saw D:Defenders male handball sides club, recorded another win against inexperienced team, Benue Buffaloes of Makurdi 10-9 in first half.
The D:Defenders continued with the same strength to narrowly beat 26-24.This win recorded their third win .
While Defenders Babes ,also put on sword convincing beat against Benue Queens of Makurdi in the first half 20-8 and continued at the same speed to end the game 40-19 to recorded their fifth win.
With more resounding victory to neutralize any threat poised by the Makurdi teams .The NSCDC got the biggest win of match Day nine of Prudent Energy Handball League.
Both teams didn’t need to sweat too much as they earn a major scalp with a victory in their campaign.
Speaking after the match, Sunday Ajana, the head coach of NSCDC for both male and female teams said that he can see “bright lights” ahead.
He said, he is full of optimism despite the poor start from the D: Defenders teams , which has seen them manage just three win and six loss in the ongoing league.
“ We are gradually moving on,we now left with two females matches and two male matches to end the first phase in Abuja,” he said.
In the female match, we have played seven matches, we win five and loss two and today wins moved us to third on the log table with 17 points.
While In the male match, we have played nine matches, we win three and loss six and today wins moved us to ninth on the log table with 15 points.
Our next match in the female category will see Defenders Babes tackling against Bendel Dynamos Rebranded on Wednesday. While our male teams will walk over against Kada stars on Wednesday.
Ajana said , we have to put a run together. We know how much we need the results and the performances will lead to that.
“ If we do what we have to do during final stages forthcoming in Lagos,we’ll be much closer to achieving our targets,” he said.
Both players struggled to outsmart each other, with excellent goals displayed in the female team but the male team needed to be more better and faster.
“ I am happy to have won the two matches in spite of his opponent’s quality.I am happy that I won the match.I decided to work harder and improve on scoring and We made it.
“ I believes “they “can build on their win over ,which will help them to lift more points in the league.
“ We know what we are facing. The challenge is going to be big, because it’s one of the toughest places to go in the tournament,” he said.We are ready for it,” he said.
in the other matches played in the league’s male category on Tuesday, Kano Pillars beat Tojemarine Academy 29-25, Safety Shooters beat Lagos Seasiders 30-22. While police Machine walked over Kada Stars.
In the female category on Tuesday ,Safety Babes beat Bendel Dynamos Rebranded 32-22, Seasider Babes beat Adorable Angels 29-25. while Rima Queens walked over Kada Queens.
A total of 22 teams, made up of 10 female and 12 male, are participating in the league.
The league, being played at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, will end on Thursday.
Sports
Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney
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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