Sports

Volleyball: Nigeria emerge Champions of 2023 African Zone 3 U21 Nations C’Ship

Published

3 years ago

July 10, 2023

Nigeria defeated Ghana to lift the women’s trophy at the ongoing 2023 African U21 Nations Volleyball Championship Zone 3 in Niamey, Niger Republic on Sunday.

Team Nigeria went through the entire tournament without dropping a single set to be crowned champions while beating Ghana twice in the mix.

The girls eased past local rivals Ghana in their first match of the tournament with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-8) win. They continued their winning run in their second match against hosts Niger, winning 3-0 (25-4, 25-11, 25-4).

Coach Rakiya Mohammed’s team swept aside Benin Republic with a dominant display in their third match, claiming a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-9) win to secure a rematch against Ghana in the final.

The final was one-sided like the previous meeting between both sides as Team Nigeria prevailed with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-10) win to secure the title in Niger. Nigeria’s Aliyat Usman was voted MVP of the Match.

Head coach of Nigeria U21 women’s team, Rakiya Mohammed expressed her happiness over the victory of the team.

“I am the happiest coach on earth today because this is the first time Nigeria is picking a trophy in the under aged championship so I feel so happy. The Ghanaians came all out to play the Nigerian team but the girls showed them that Khaki no be leather.

That’s how we played and defeated them and we’ve lifted the trophy and we are taking it back to Nigeria and also we’ve qualified for the world championship in Thailand”, an elated Mohammed expressed.

“I told them that Ghana played us first, and the second time that we are meeting, it’s going to be difficult. They’re going to push, so we should push more than the first time we played them, and that is exactly what the girls did.

Both in defence, in attack, in blocks and in service, Nigerian girls were wonderful” remarked Nigeria’s U21 volleyball coach.

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Sports

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

Published

4 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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