Sports
Ayomidiran Foundation Launches Inaugural “Girls Play Sports” Women’s Football Tournament
Joseph Ajayi
The Ayomidiran Foundation has successfully launched the inaugural “Girls Play Sports” Women’s Football Tournament, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at discovering and promoting sports development among young girls in Nigeria.
Honorable Ayo Omidiran, the C.E.O of Ayomidiran Foundation and Chairman of the Organising Committee, expressed her delight at the launch of the “Girls Play Sports” program during a press conference held at the NFF Technical Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
“This ‘Girls Play Sports’ initiative is set up to promote and empower young girls through the sport of football, aiming to provide a developmental platform, minimize social vices among young girls, and foster unity across Nigeria,” Omidiran, a two-time House of Representative member told the media.
“The ‘Girls Play Sports’ Women’s Football Tournament is more than just a tournament; it is a movement aimed at fostering equality, building confidence, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and providing gainful opportunities through sports among our young girls. By involving grassroots teams from both the North and South of Nigeria, we seek to minimize social vices among young girls and promote a spirit of unity and inclusivity through the love of football.
“With the support of the Nigeria Football Federation, our partners, and women’s football stakeholders, we aim to create a lasting impact on these young girls’ lives. We are excited about the journey ahead and look forward to witnessing the massive girl-child talent discovery and development that will emerge from this championship.”
Dr. Muhammad Sanusi, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, who also represented the NFF President, hailed the initiative and its alignment with the administration’s agenda for women’s football development, while lauding Honorable Omidiran for her pivotal role and remarkable contributions in supporting the women’s game.
“To us at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), this is a welcome idea. The board of the NFF keys into the FIFA vision of football development with various league programs and a focus on ‘catch them young,'” the NFF scribe said.
“This is the right step in the right direction. This program will greatly impact the grassroots and help to elevate the standard of women’s football in Nigeria. I will ensure that the Director of the Technical Department and Competitions identifies with this laudable program.”
“We cannot thank the Proprietor of Ayomidiran Foundation enough. It is not surprising that you are doing this because we know that she is one of the pioneers of women’s football in Nigeria. We cannot forget the exploits of Omidiran Babes and the role she played when she was in the National Assembly to ensure peace and harmony in Nigerian football.”
The inaugural championship will run from August 30 to September 30 2024, with eight teams making it to the Northern and Southern playoff finals from the preliminary round in the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Registration is free and will only open to non-league clubs via the Ayomidiran Foundation website (ayomidiranfoundation.com) from July 24 and will close on August 23. Teams will have one month to train and prepare, with a maximum of 30 players per team. Draws and fixtures will be determined after the registration period ends.
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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