Sports
FCT Kung Fu Association Chairman, Mubdiyu Adebayo, Vows to Prioritize Sport’s Visibility
By Joel Ajayi
Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Kung Fu Association, Mustapha Mubdiyu Adebayo, has reaffirmed his commitment to giving the sport more visibility across Abuja and beyond.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Adebayo, a professional town planner, said his administration’s top priority is to ensure Kung Fu gains recognition through grassroots development, schools, and community engagement.
“If you ask many people about Kung Fu, they will tell you they don’t know it or have never seen it practiced. My vision is to change that. Visibility means involving more people, which is why we are reaching out to schools and the private sector,” he said.
Despite challenges such as inadequate training equipment and limited facilities, Adebayo believes the sport has already shown great potential. He recalled that during the last National Sports Festival, only four athletes represented the FCT in Kung Fu — and all returned with medals.
“If four athletes could win medals, imagine what would happen if we had more participants. That is why our focus is on the youth. The earlier young people get involved, the faster the sport will grow,” he noted.
To actualize this vision, the association is working with the FCT School Sports Committee to integrate Kung Fu into school competitions. The first-ever inter-school championship is scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
Adebayo also revealed that beyond institutional efforts, he has personally supported athletes, from catering for their welfare during the last festival to providing equipment ahead of the National Youth Games.
On concerns that martial arts may promote violence, he explained that Kung Fu does the opposite, emphasizing discipline, self-control, and confidence.
“The world is becoming more violent every day. Parents should see martial arts as giving children confidence and basic self-defence skills, not as a tool for violence,” he stressed.
He further called for private sector involvement in Kung Fu’s development, while urging strategic partnerships that will be mutually beneficial to both sponsors and the sport.
Looking ahead, Adebayo outlined short- and long-term targets for the association. While the immediate focus is grassroots participation and visibility, the ultimate goal is to see Nigeria compete strongly on the continental and global stage, including the Olympics.
“For now, the target is grassroots participation and visibility. The long-term dream is medals for Nigeria,” he concluded.
With the planned school championship set to kick off next year, the FCT Kung Fu Association is positioning itself to expand the sport’s reach and secure its place in Nigeria’s sporting landscape.
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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