Sports
Golden Eaglets Challenged to Sharpen Attack, as MOP Stars Academy Calls for Ruthless Finishing
Joel Ajayi
The Chairman of MOP Stars Football Club Academy, Dr. Sulieman Adejoh, has charged Nigeria’s U-17 Golden Eaglets to sharpen their attack and make the nation proud at the forthcoming WAFU-B U-17 Boys Tournament in Abidjan.
Speaking after a goalless draw in a test match between his academy side and the Eaglets on Monday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Dr. Adejoh commended the resilience of the team but stressed that their major weakness remained in front of goal.
“This was more than just a game — it was a test of the ability of our national U-17 team to represent Nigeria. The boys are grounded and talented, but they simply couldn’t score today. For a national team, that’s not acceptable. Football is about teamwork and, most importantly, scoring goals,” he said.
He urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Coach Manu Garba’s technical crew to refine their strategies, cautioning that dazzling play without goals will not be enough at the international level.
Reflecting on his own academy’s performance, Adejoh expressed pride, noting that the Mobsters, founded only in January, have yet to lose a match except in a training game against the senior national team. He said the Eaglets’ inability to score against an academy side was a clear signal of the need for urgent improvement in their attacking third.
“Defensively, they are solid, and the wingers are talented. But wingers must supply the strikers. If attackers don’t get the ball, even the best can’t do anything. The Eaglets represent over 200 million Nigerians, and we want to see goals when they play,” he added.
He praised both sides for a competitive and injury-free match and the fans for their enthusiasm. Delivering his final message to the Golden Eaglets, Dr. Adejoh said:
“My advice is simple: go for goals. Stop the unnecessary dribbling. Football is teamwork. Release the ball quickly, find your striker, and let them do their job — which is scoring goals. That’s what Nigerians expect when they represent the country abroad.”
Head Coach of MOP Stars, Toyin Lawal, hailed the progress of his young team after holding the national U-17 side to a goalless draw.
“We are a new team and still have a lot of work ahead of us. But it’s a joyful thing to see that we were able to contend with the national team. I sincerely hope the Eaglets will go on to represent the country very well.
When we met months ago at the Goal Project, they beat us 1–0. This time, we ensured no goal went in. In fact, we even pushed to win it. What changed is simply the mentality of the boys. Back then, the goal we conceded came from a careless mistake due to inexperience. But as we’ve grown and trained more, the players have become more precise. You could see today that those mistakes were far fewer, and that’s why we came out stronger.”
Team captain Edeh Eric Ernest described the game as “a battle of giants.” “In the first leg, they beat us 1–0, but we went back to the drawing board and came back stronger for this encounter. Our goal today was to win, and we created chances, but they were able to withstand us in key moments, and that’s why we didn’t score. Kudos to them for that.
I’m proud of my boys — they really gave their best. The mistakes we made in the last game didn’t happen today, and that’s why this result is massive for us. At least we came out with a draw. At the same time, we pray for the national team to represent Nigeria well as they travel. That’s the most important thing.
One of the academy’s stakeholders, Mr. Ekpang Adejoh, praised the team’s discipline and raw talent.
“Fantastic defensive discipline, solid midfield formation — from street footballers — yet they held a national U-17 side to a goalless draw. That’s remarkable.
The U-17s did well too, but you cannot take away the raw talent of these MOP Stars. This is why we are urging the NFF to look into the streets of Nigeria. There are footballers everywhere, and even from this team alone, you can find future Super Eagles stars.
The academy is less than a year old, yet look how far they’ve come. In the next two years, with the dedication of the founder, we could be seeing players on the level of Jay-Jay Okocha or Kanu Nwankwo.
From losing through an own goal in the first leg to holding their own here and even creating better chances, this shows there’s massive talent on Nigeria’s streets. It’s time for the NFF to recognize this and organize competitions between academies and national teams to uncover more players. That’s very important.”
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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