Sports

Abia Warriors Will Play Her Second Round Matches In Umuahia-Obu

Published

3 years ago

January 30, 2024

The Chairman of Abia Warriors FC Coach John Obu has assured the teeming fans and supporters of the club that their darling team Abia Warriors FC, will continue to play their matches at their home ground, Umuahia Township Stadium.

Speaking on the state of the Umuahia Stadium concerning the recent pronouncement of the NPFL, banning the Umuahia-based team from using the Umuahia Township Stadium for the second stanza of the league until such a time that the areas of deficiencies are tied up.

Quoting his words, the former U-17 & U-20 Head Coach said “Actually we have done a lot of work on the pitch since we received the NPFL directives. We have improved on the state of the pitch, and it will be very okay to host matches as soon as the league resumes.”

Giving a background on the decisions of the NPFL to banish his team, Obu who tutored the Golden Eagles to win the silver medal at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009, said “this issue started when we went for the draws of the league. The management of the League body called me and said that they would not approve the Umuahia stadium for us to use unless we improved on certain things. This we worked on, and at the end of the inspection, the team that came gave us a thumbs up and encouraged us to improve on the seating arrangements and the entrance.

“It is baffling that after we have invested money in putting everythinh in order at the stadium, before the first stanza of the league could end, the NPFL came up with that directive. The annoying aspect of it is that they base their claims on what they read on social media or what the teams said. None of the bosses at the NPFL have visited the stadium to see things themselves. Even with what we are doing now, nobody gave directives on where to improve. It is very disheartening that it is only when teams come to Umuahia and get beaten that they will realize that the pitch is bad. But you hardly hear comments from those who got positive results from the pitch. We have the worst astro turf pitches that teams are using for matches, and no one is looking at that. Everyone is interested in killing the grass pitches”.

Obu, however, insisted that they will put the pitch in a better shape before the commencement of the second stanza of the NPFL season “before then, we intend to conduct a media tour of the stadium, and invite the leadership of the NPFL to come for a first-hand inspection before the resumption of the league” he concluded.

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Sports

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

Published

18 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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