Sports

Cricket is the Best Run Sport in Nigeria-Akpata

Published

3 years ago

November 17, 2023

Joel Ajayi

President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata says his sport is the best-run sport in the country.

He made this claim while pitching his Cricket to the private sector at an event in Lagos tagged ‘Cricket meet Corporates’.
“I’d like to say the Nigeria Cricket Federation structure is the best I have seen around, and it is modeled from my experience in the private sector.” The career accountant said.

The meeting was meant for accountability to stakeholders, and to pitch the future of the game to new and potential sponsors. Uyi, told Cricket stakeholders that the three international awards won by the Federation, and a recent visit by the International Cricket Council’s Development Manager, William Glenwright, to understudy Nigeria’s growth plan was no fluke.

“We have some of the most dedicated workforce in sports development and some of the state posts a whooping 25, 000 kids’ in-take into the game annually. We currently do 250, 000 and we have raised the stake to 500, 000 for the coming season”

The PwC National Under-17 Championship has been one of the key events that has driven the grassroots effort of late; as most of the field officers see the platform as a place to showcase their regional engagement efforts.

Akpata said, “In 2023, we had uLesson come on board our youth project, and many more corporates like Accessbank joined our Women’s T20i Invitational that had five countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone). Eko Disco, Intercontinental Hotel, Sparkle, and Alaro City have also seen value in our projects.”

“In 2024, we are raising the stakes, and as the ICC has also beamed the searchlight on our activities, the 2.5 billion audience of Cricket is ours and our partners to leverage.”

Akpata added that the Nigeria Women’s team, presently ranked 30th in the world, and Men’s 38th standing on the World T20i table respectively adds to Nigeria’s enviable profile as the new year beckons.

“Our male team is presently in Zimbabwe, heading to Namibia next week to begin a historic chase for the 2024 World Cup ticket, and the ladies will do the same in a few weeks in December.”

He said the West Africa Under 15 Championship, The 2024 Women’s T20i Invitational in March, Men’s T20i Invitational, The Nigeria Super League, National championships, Secondary School Challenge Cup, and The Nigeria Universities Cricket League are some of the projects that the Federation will onboard next year.

Among notable corporate bodies that attended the function are UPDC, Olam, Card Center, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Infinity Snacks and Chams, to mention a few.

“We are very focused and value-driven and will be looking forward to working with several brands on these.” He concluded.

Share on Facebook

Sports

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

Published

7 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.

Share on Facebook