Sports
Unity Preseason Tournament: Lobi, Wikki, Doma, Katsina Talks Big
As organizers of the 2022 Unity Preseason Tournament put finishing touches to the commencement of the tournament which runs from 23rd to 30th October in Abuja, participating teams have expressed readiness to make maximum use of the program to prepare adequately for the new football season, and assess their new recruits.
The Vice Chairman of Lobi Stars Mr Dominic Iorfa, expressed the club’s readiness to participate in Unity Preseason Tournament.
Iorfa who is the CEO of Lobi stars, stressed that, the importance of the tournament can never be overemphasized, which prompted him to honor the invitation. He said the tournament is a Panacea for integration and acclimatisation of both the newly recruited and the old players for better understanding. He opined that, as a process, there is every need to exploit the best alternative that geared towards uniting the team together ahead of the new season.
The Technical Adviser of Wikki Tourists FC of Bauchi, Kabiru Dogo in expressing the readiness of his team to be part of 2022 edition of the Abuja Pre Season Unity Football Competiton said Wikki Tourists is set to compete in the competition and has so far made necessary arrangements to that effect. He said the pre season competition is a welcome development as it will enable teams test especially their new players ahead of the coming season.
He promised that his team will do better than last year where it crashed out at the semi final stage
Katsina United Chairman Prince Abdussamad Badamasi said the tournament will give his team the opportunity to know how far they have gone in their recruitment drive and how the players can fit into the new system. ” we want to see how far we have gone with our new recruitment before the commencement of the football season in the country”.
To the Proprietor of Doma FC Alhaji Suleiman Umar, the Unity Preseason Tournament is an avenue for his team to test their might against some of the Premiership clubs before the commencement of the new season.
The Chairman of Like-Minds FC, one of the Nationwide League One teams participating in the tournament, Babatunde Bucknor said the tournament is another opportunity for his team to show their talents among the best in the country and prepare adequately for the new season.
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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