Sports
Super Eagles AFCON Draw; A Perfect Pathway For Nigeria To Achieve Its “Let’s Do It Again” 2024 Nations Cup Objective
By Michael Obasi.
Sports Affairs Analyst
The Countdown to the 2024 Africa Cup Of Nations Tournament has reached its serious end following the draw of the tournament held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Twenty-four African Countries including the Super Eagles of Nigeria now know their group opponents at the next tournament.
Countries can now step up their preparations for the tournament which starts in January as regards the organisation of Friendly games and likely opponents.
Three times Champion Nigeria are among the top teams going into the tournament and the team has now been drawn in Group A alongside host country Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea.
In the face of mixed reactions to the Super Eagles Group, President of the Nigeria Football Federation Ibrahim Gusau has described the draw as a Good one for Nigeria.
Gusau said, ” For me, I see it as a very good draw for us and our focus remains the same which is to prepare the team the best way possible so that we can achieve the aim of winning the trophy”.
Seeing the draw personally, I can only agree totally with the NFF boss that having Ivory Coast and the two Guinean countries is a perfect draw for our Super Eagles.
I strongly believe that for Nigeria to achieve the “Let’s DO IT AGAIN” mantra in Ivory Coast, this kind of draw will be a good platform to build on to reach the tournament’s final.
It’s a known fact that the quality of African football has continued to rise and even the so-called smaller countries are beginning to parade good players who ply their trades in Europe, but the Current Nigeria squad is full of top-name players whose qualities tear down headlines in Europe week in week out.
Ivory Coast is not a strange opponent for the Super Eagles and both countries have a huge history of producing world-class players.
It is therefore almost a straightforward prediction that Nigeria and Host Ivory Coast will be the top two teams to qualify from their group, barring any tournament upset.
This however does not mean Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau are push-overs.
Guinea-Bissau has been making some strong statements on the continent in the last couple of years, qualifying for the 2022 Nations Cup in Cameroon and now making it to the 2024 tournament.
They finished second behind the Super Eagles in the AFCON qualifiers and will be hoping for a tournament upset to go beyond the Group stage in Ivory Coast.
Their Guinean brothers, Equatorial Guinea are far more of a better-improved Footballing country and they have continued to prove this by their regular qualification for the AFCON in recent years.
In fact the last AFCON in Cameroon they made it beyond the group stage in a Group that had Ivory Coast and Algeria.
They eventually fell in the knockout stage to Mali on Penalties so they will be very optimistic that despite being in the same group with Nigeria and Ivory’s Coast, they have got a decent chance.
Unfortunately for them maybe host Country Ivory’s Coast will trade their spot in the knock phase with them but certainly not the current Super Eagles team with the present leadership of the NFF board.
NFF President Ibrahim Gusau has reassured in several forums that the well-being of all the National teams is his board’s main objective and that will not be compromised at any time under his tenure.
Little wonder, the Eagles are making judicious use of every FIFA free window to play competitive Friendly games which will continue heading to the Nation’s Cup.
The NFF President has continued to have serious engagements with both the Corporate bodies and the Government through the Minister of Sports as regards the funding of the Super Eagles and other National teams.
And all things being equal if the NFF gets the desired support from all quarters then the campaign of “LET’S DO IT AGAIN” will become a reality in Ivory Coast next year.
By Michael Obasi.
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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