Sports

Emir Of Karshi Urges Schools To Encourage The Girl Children In Sports

Published

3 years ago

December 13, 2023

…Host the victorious FOSLA Academy Girls team in his palace

Joel Ajayi

His Royal Majesty the Emir of Karshi Alhaji Mohammed Ismaila MFR, has advised Parents, and schools to ensure they encourage their children and students to engage in sports to enhance peace, growth, and development of the society.

He gave this advice on Wednesday in Karshi Abuja at grand reception In honour of the FOSLA Academy’s female team that represented Nigeria at the CAF Under- 15 African Schools Football Championship held in Lome, Togo and young athletes who participated at just concluded MTN Athletic Championship in Abuja.

Speaking at the occasion Sarkin Karshi Alhaji Ismaila said sports today, football remain an instrument for physical, and spiritual growth and even a source of income for the young generation, saying such an instrument should not be toil with but to be embraced by the parents, schools.

According to him, FOSLA Academy’s female team remains the best Nigeria team, even though they did not win the trophy, they were rated well-behaved team, and they also won the trophy for the fair play award which we are very proud of.

“This under-15 female team has made history, they are the first team from Nigeria that will participate in the CAF U-15 female tournament we hope by next year they will bring the trophy back home.

“Football shouldn’t be the game of men, we have seen the steady development of female football around the world and Nigeria should not be left behind.

Football is good for their physical and health development, they can also make a career out of it, and this performance shows they can do what their male counterpart is doing, and we hope that Nigerians and other Schools will encourage their female students and children to participate in football and other sports.” He advised.

Emir Of Karshi, however, called on well-meaning Nigerians to come and support the school that combines academics with football development

He thanked the Proprietor of FOSLA Academy, Karshi, Abuja, Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi for putting the Karshi Community on the world map through football.

Speaking also was the Proprietor of FOSLA Academy, Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi, who was full of joy over the progress of the FOSLA Academy.

Lulu, however, said the FOSLA Academy aspires to be the best in Africa and the world.

It will be recalled that the inaugural 8 – Aside CAF African Schools Football Championship was held between November 23rd – November 26th, 2023 in Togo

Also, the young athletes who participated in the just concluded MTN Athletic championship of 400. 800 meters race who won medals in Abuja were presented to the emir alongside the Under 15 female team.

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Sports

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

Published

6 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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