Sports

FCT FA Vows To Improve On League, develop infrastructure, Coach others

Published

2 years ago

October 1, 2024

….Approve promotion of team to division 1

Joel Ajayi
Chairman of Federal Capital Territory Football Association Adams Mouktar Mohammed has restated its commitment toward the fas-tracking of better infrastructure, as well as coach and referee development in the six Area councils of the city that will further bring more growth to football.

He stated this on Monday in Abuja during FCT FA 2024 Annual General Meeting which was held at the Old Parade Ground, Area 10 in Abuja, where the AGM rectified and approved the promotion of teams from the FCT League division 2 to 1 in the 2024 league season.
Speaking, the soft-spoken FA Chairman, Mourktar said that the yearly annual congress is to call the body that voted us in, so that we lay, bear our activities, our responsibilities, our challenges, and then take very important decisions for the year coming and to seek their approval.

According to him, we had a very successful meeting, a marathon meeting, we had a board meeting, it came into we have been able to take very important key decisions, and also to tell them activities and to seek their approval, and also for me to inform them that I will be going for the NFF congress in Asaba in a few days, and to see if they have any questions or contributions.

“We intend to try and develop more infrastructure across other area councils. And then we intend to also develop more coaches and referees so that we leave a legacy that is befitting of the capital of Nigeria.

“We intend to come up with a kids league. And also we intend to improve on the administration of academies and problems across disputes on players.”

He listed some of FCT FA achievements so far: Well, “there’s been some incredible feats this year. For the first time in FCT history, our female team Naija Rattel was in the final in Lagos, even though they did not win, it was the first and it was a huge development for female football, and also we had some historic matches brought to the FCT Federation Cup.

“Our new Bwari Stadium, which was historic, because typically all the matches are played in the city center, and part of our promises we made coming into office is to take grassroots football development to the area councils, which we achieved.

“And also we had one of the private investors in the sporting supreme, investing hundreds of millions, they nearly made it to the Premier League. Unfortunately, they lost the playoffs in Enugu, so we’re proud of a lot of achievements we’ve enjoyed in the FCT, despite the challenging times we face. Going forward, we intend to make our league better.”

However, some of the resolutions of the FCT FA after her 2024 Annual General Meeting include approval of the promotion of teams from the FCT League division 2 to 1 in the 2024 league season.

The Board also appreciated the Honourable Minister FCT, the FCT Sports Council, and the good people of FCT for their continuous support, collaboration, and guidance in the affairs and operation of their football activities.

The AGM hailed the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) under Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau for providing excellent leadership and unfettered ground for the activities of the FCT Football Association.

The AGM charged her marketing committee to expedite action on securing sponsors/partners for the activities of the FCT Football Association.

Also, the bye-election into the office of the 1st Vice Chairman is currently vacant, while charging the electoral committee to come up with modalities to actualize this in the shortest possible time.

The highest decision-making organ in football matters in FCT passed a vote of explicit confidence on the Board of the FCT Football Association for the good work they’re doing and for successfully repositioning the Association.

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Sports

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

Published

2 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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