Sports

Adebayo, Agbo Win 2024 IBB Golf Club Captain, Lady Captain Inaugural Tourney

Published

2 years ago

August 26, 2024

….As stakeholders promise to rejuvenate the course

Joel Ajayi

In this year edition in other to add value to the game, the Captain and ladies captain tourneys played together unlike previous years where the tournament played separate.

It was a joyous moment for Mr Shola Adebayo and Grace Agbo on Sunday in Abuja when emerged winners of the 2024 Captain’s and Lady Captain Inaugural tournament at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja.

Adebayo who played off handicap 13 with a gross score of 76 and overall best net of 63 to emerge champion, beating the field of over 200 golfers.

While Agbo who played handicap 9 emerged winner putting a gross score of 84 and 75 net.
The tournament organized to officially usher in Ibrahim Babayo and Julie Donli as the 27th captain and Lady Captain of the prestigious golf club.

An exciting 3 days tournament which teed-off on Friday ended on Sundays night with a dinner and presentation of prizes to deserved winners in the various categories at the prestigious IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja.

While Speaking IBB Captain Ibrahim Babayo who settled for the 1st runner up position in the category after he played off handicap 21 with a gross score of 90 and 69 net expressed satisfaction and promised to improve in every are of the course.

According to him, It’s a sort of tradition where the new executive is elected. There is this tournament that heralds the new exco and it call captain’s inaugural tourney.

Talking about his plan, Babayo said: “We are bringing in serious reform. We are doing standard operating procedures, we are doing staff enhancement and above all, the main thing that we promise is that we are going to really, really rejuvenate the course to its international standard.

“This involves the clubhouse and the course itself, the playing field itself. So if you go around, you will see some projects already being started and there are many more to come.
“We have zero tolerance for plastic waste on the course. You can go around and see for yourself”.

In her remarked, IBB Lady Captain, Dame Julie Donli, who in her usual joyous mood, explained that exco have already swung the action by supporting and assisting the ladies.
“As lady Captain, first of all, the theme for the year is ladies supporting ladies. We’ve been doing a lot of support towards ladies, the female caddies are being supported by the ladies section.

“The ladies committee also built a toilet to support ladies more. We also have children’s projects like the children’s clinic, which was concluded not too long ago. We also just recently concluded the junior open, which is made of children, young children as well we have a lot in stock”.

However, the elated Adebayo who emerged winner expressed: what inspired me was the challenges encountered on the course was was fierce.

Speaking also was the Omon Isemede, the Social Secretary, Ladies Golf Section, said the competition wouldn’t have been a success without the Captain lady Captain effort and their tremendous initiative to steer the ship of the course. She however wish the new exco the best.

Other winner includes; Godwin Okoko who won the professional category prize after he played 68 gross to beat runner up Kamalu Bako on countback.

Emmanuel Edoka emerged winner of the best gross men after playing off handicap 7 with a gross score of 82.

In the Auxiliary award category, Rachael Danjuma won the prize for the longest drive with a distance of 239 metres, while Kamalu Bako won the men’s category with a distance of 292 metres.

Amina Wilfred won the prize for nearest to the pin ladies with a distance of 7 ft., while Joseph Shuiabu won the prize in the men’s category with a distance of 1.99 ft.

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Sports

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

Published

32 mins 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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