Sports

Ibrahim Gusau Strive In Transforming Nigerian Football From The Domestic League

Published

3 years ago

December 1, 2023

By Michael Obasi

The Phrase “changing the narrative” is a very productive and positive word that simply means to change the way one looks at things or life in general.

This was exactly the message of the President of the Nigeria Football Federation Ibrahim Gusau when he was privileged to declare open the Nigeria Premier Football League Retreat for staff in Abuja.

Gusau’s careful choice of words during the retreat has once again underscore his pragmatic and action packed approach to his own leadership style.

Like what many might have observed, the NFF President is a man of few words but often times those words are laced with vast positive multiplier effects in terms of deliverables.

The NFF boss said it is very cardinal to his board’s vision for Nigerians and followers of the domestic league to change the way they see the country’s league in terms of quality , infrastructure, organisation and officiating.

It is therefore no coincidence that the present NFF board under the leadership of Gusau is ensuring there is a peaceful and cordial working relationships among the various league bodies and the Football House.

“For me everything starts with a united house because if we are in crises as a football family we can’t achieve much” , Gusau stated.

It is therefore no surprise the kind of gradual positive changes we are beginning to witness in the various league bodies, starting with the Premier League.

Now the league is back on Television and for the very first time that I can remember in my years of covering Nigerian football , the League body had a staff retreat.

The retreat is a testimony to how things are begining to change in the league and the NFF President used the opportunity to charge the leadership of the league to have more of such retreat and even extend it to the clubs.

Gusau maintained that such retreat must be taken to the various Premier League clubs where clubs security officials and secretaries will attend as part of ways to curb some of the challenges bedeviling the league during matches.

The NFF boss also highlighted why the issues of bad officiating is gradually reducing because his board is not taking less seriously the punishment of erring referees.

He insisted that this is the reason why any referee involved in bad officiating is getting punished almost immediately without delays.

While these are highly commendable is because watchers of Nigeria Football have been calling for such initiatives so that the league can maintain a positive image.

Gusau has also revealed that efforts have started for Nigeria league to witness the usage of the Video Assistant Referee VAR.

Some Nigerian referees will be going for the VAR training with WAFU early next year while discussions are on with both the Egyptian and Moroccan Football Associations to assist with further training as regards our usage of VAR in the Nigeria Premier league.

While the NFF President is trying to change the narrative in the league , he is also doing same with the Country’s Grassroot Football Development especially with the recently concluded FIFA Talent Development scheme Programme held in Abuja.

The scheme which focuses on discovering talents from the grassroots across the states witnessed the participation of all the states Football Associations.

The NFF boss assured that discovering of the next generation of Nigeria Under 17 players will come from Grassroots tournaments put together by this scheme.

It is therefore very important to join hands to support the NFF in achieving her goal of changing the narrative of the Country’s Football.

Written By Michael Obasi. Sports Affairs Analyst/ Journalist

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Sports

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

Published

9 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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