Sports

We will vacates court order preventing NFF’s Congress in one week-Stakeholders

Published

4 years ago

June 20, 2022

…As FG Directs NFF To Amend Statutes

Joel Ajayi

Football stakeholders in the country have agreed to vacate the court order that prevents a meeting of the NFF Congress and for a General Assembly to be called next week.

It will be recalled that a board member of the Nembe City, Seigha Obiene WHO approached a Federal High Court, Bayelsa State Judicial Division with suit number; FHC/YNG/CS/133/2021 with the prayer that five members of the NFF Congress who were part of the Elective Congress in Katsina in 2018 participated illegally in the elections and asking the court to declare the elections null and void.

Concerned Congress Members of The Nigerian Football Federation and Professional Football Players Association of Nigeria PFAN /Project 2022 Task Force comprises of 18 FA chairmen includes player’s union representative after their joint meeting on Monday in Abuja after their revealed that, the concerned group have resolved to get matter out of court to enable commencement of electoral process.

While reading the communique, the River state FA Chairman Barr. Chris Green expressed that: “Resulting from the delay in convening the 2021 NFF Annual General Assembly, which the Executive Committee of the NFF attributed to the interim order of injunction given by the Federal High Court, Bayelsa State Judicial Division, in Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/133/2021.

“Concerned members of the NFF congress on the 20th day of June 2022 in Abuja met with the players union, whose member is the plaintiff in the aforesaid suit and resolved as follows.

“That the Plaintiff in the aforementioned suit shall immediately withdraw from court to pave the way for the executive committee of the NFF to immediately convene the emergency General Assembly of the NFF.

“The AGA in which the Congress discusses the way forward for Nigeria football in compliance with the status and for the sake of the good order.” Communique read.

Also, 28 FA Chairmen had sent a notice to the Secretariat of the Federation asking it to vacate the ex-parte order stopping the federation from holding its Congress.

While filling the questions, the Chairman BOT Player Union Harrision Jalla said that, has backed the resolution the congress made.

“As you all aware, we have five statutory bodies that made up of NFF Federation and it very clear that those five body have equal stake any of those bodies can make a proposing for the amendment of the statues provided that the due process is follow what players union want is to amend some aspects of statues should be amended it wouldn’t have generated to this level if NFF have responded to our prayers.”

“We have resolved, here today, that we are going to get that matter out of court and follow the due process in trying to get the relevant section of the statutes that we are asking for, that is all.”

Meanwhile, the Federal government has directed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to immediately commence the process that will lead to holding new elections into its Executive Committee at the expiration of the current administration in September.

President Muhammadu Buhari through ministry of Youth and Sports development directed that the instrument of football administration in the country, the NFF Statutes, be amended to include other stakeholders, who had hitherto been disenfranchised, or denied equal representation in the NFF congress.

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Sports

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

Published

5 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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