Sports
NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko declares 6th OSOM Games Open in a Colorful Ceremony
Joel Ajayi
Chairman of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Mallam Shehu Dikko has reassured Nigerian athletes of regular internal competitions as a key priority of the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigerian Sports Economy, RHINSE, mandate of the Commission.
The Chairman stated this when he declared open the 6th edition of the One Service One medal ( OSOM) Games inside the mainbowl of the MKO stadium in Abuja on Thursday.
The Chairman emphasized the importance of organising such Games which amongst other things serves as a veritable tool to foster unity and commaraderie among the security agencies.
” We recognise the role the security agencies played in the rich sporting history of our country by producing some of the country’s finest athletes who have done the country proud at various international competitions”.
” And at the Sports Commission we acknowledge that the security agencies still has the potential to produce top class athletes for the country which is part of the reasons we are committed like never before to hosting this year’s OSOM Games”.
” Under the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria Sports Economy( RHINSE ), mandate given to us by Mr President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Sports Commission is committed to ensuring that there is regular competitions to discover new talents and to keep our athletes actively busy”.
” The OSOM Games is more than a competition. It is a building block in our broader vision to reform the Nigerian Sports Sector. As I said earlier , under the RHINSE initiative, we are committed to turning Sports from a field of consumption into one of Production. That means placing greater focus on local competitions like these”.
” I look forward to an exciting six days of competition and our eyes will be on some of the outstanding athletes that will distinguish themselves at the Games as we are currently building a sustainable pool of talents that will be ready to do the country proud at international competitions”.
The Chairman also used the opportunity to assure the athletes that the Commission will soon embark on infrastructural revamping of the country’s sporting facilities and the Abuja National stadium will soon undergo a total face-lift especially with the Pitch.
The Chairman maintained that infrastructural development and Athlete’s growth go hand in hand and the Sports Commission is fully committed to making this work.
The OSOM Games brings together all Service Agencies, both Military and Para Military, to compete under a fair and competitive atmosphere and will run from the 24-30th of April 2025.
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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