Sports

Shehu Dikko Pledges NSC’s Support For NFF, Chelle

Published

2 years ago

January 14, 2025

Joel Ajayi

In consonance with its promise to the various Sports Federations, the National Sports Commission (NSC) will support the Nigeria Football Federation to succeed in the quest for World Cup qualification and beyond. NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko made this pledge during the ceremony unveiling new Super Eagles head coach Eric Sekou Chelle.

His words, “If the NFF succeeds, we (NSC) succeed. If the NFF fails, we fail. So we will do all we can to support them to succeed. This is what I have been telling all the other Sports Federations and I am telling NFF the same thing now. Our destinies are sort of tied together.”

To this end, the idea of Presidential Support Group (PSG) was mooted to complement NFF and Nigeria’s quest to qualify for the World Cup.

“The Presidential Support Group is not taking over the work of the NFF. NFF will do their work, PSG will only support the NFF to achieve the same goal and it is for this reason we are not calling it a task force but support group”, he added.

He lent his voice to the process that produced Chelle as the 37th Super Eagles chief coach.

“The process to select Eric was thorough. At the NSC we followed all the processes and all the details and we are happy with the process that produced Eric. I must congratulate Eric for being part of this great opportunity to be part of Nigeria’s journey in football”, he said.

In his opinion, Chelle’s selection should strengthen brotherly bonds across the West African subregion.

“People are saying that this process negates the plans of the National Sports Commission to take our football from competition-driven to development-driven industry. It has not. It has actually advanced that course. People have forgotten that we are all in ECOWAS and ECOWAS is supposed to be one united family. And our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the Chairman of ECOWAS. So to have a Franco-Malian here is another opportunity for bonding in ECOWAS and expanding our influence as leaders in the ECOWAS region and beyond”, he pointed out.

The NSC Chairman solicited support for the new national team helmsman.

“All of us are committed to support the NFF to get us to the World Cup. We need to look at the records of Chelle in the Malian national team. Twenty-two games with Mali, 14 wins, 5 draws and only 3 losses. Over 40 goals scored and just 13 goal conceded. We are looking for someone to get us through this qualification process and we are going to play against African teams”, he added.

Mallam Dikko shed more light on the rationale behind the choice of Chelle.
“There is no time for any friendly match. We are going straight to the qualifiers to get the results. So we want someone who understands African football. He has coached Mali and even a top football club in Africa, so he understands the terrain and his record with Mali is impeccable. We could have brought the best coach in the world but before he settles down to understand the African environment, the World Cup qualifiers are over.

“We are looking for someone to get down to work straight away and qualify us for the World Cup and Eric comes highly motivated, recommended and qualified. If he reenacts his winning ratio at Mali, I am sure we will qualify. Eric is quite motivated and determined to get this job done, reason he took a huge pay cut to be here with us.

This clearly shows the mindset and ambition of Eric which clearly aligns with our ambition for the Super Eagles.

“So I will enjoin all stakeholders to stop all these negativity and support Eric. We on our part will do all we can to get the desired results”, he concluded.

Earlier, NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau had pointed out that the choice of Chelle was geared towards having a smoother ride in the remaining World Cup qualifiers. On his part, Chelle promised to unleash the inherent attacking potentials of the Super Eagles.

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Sports

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

Published

1 hour 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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