Sports

Abuja Hosts African Karate Championship as 31 Nations Battle for Glory

Published

1 year ago

July 21, 2025

….Karate Federation President Agara Pledges Impactful Championship

Joel Ajayi

No fewer than 1,000 athletes have arrived in Abuja for the 2025 African Karate Championship, scheduled to hold from July 21 to July 28.

, President of the Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN), Silas Agara stated this in Press Conference on Abuja on Sunday that 31 countries, alongside host nation Nigeria, will compete across four categories of the sport.

Agara explained that the categories include:Cadet (ages 14–15), Junior (ages 16–17),Senior, and Para-karate (for athletes aged 18 and above).

According to him, Today, we are happy to announce that most of the countries that indicated interest in participating in the African Championship are already on ground,” Agara stated.

“We also have international officials present to provide technical support throughout the event. As a federation, we have been working tirelessly over the past week to ensure all logistics are in place, including accommodation for the visiting countries.”

He noted that as of Wednesday night—the official deadline for registration—31 countries had confirmed participation, with over 1,000 athletes and officials expected in total.

“Coordinating logistics for these athletes and officials has been quite demanding, especially regarding accommodation, transportation, and immigration matters, such as visa-on-arrival processing. However, I’m happy to say that we are on course,” he added.

Agara further disclosed that the General Assembly of the African Karate Federation will also take place in Abuja during the championship.

In his remarks, Dave Jegede, Technical Director of the KFN, said Nigeria would present 60 athletes for the championship, all of whom are in high spirits ahead of the competition.

“In anticipation of this event, we have been preparing extensively. As the host nation, we organized several national and regional championships to keep our athletes sharp and competition-ready,” Jegede said.

“We’ve held four national and two regional tournaments leading up to this championship. Our 60-athlete team includes African and Commonwealth medalists—gold, silver, and bronze winners—so we are confident in their ability to make Nigeria proud,” he added.

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Sports

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

Published

21 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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