Sports
NSC Records Major Gains Under Dikko, Olopade as President Bola Tinubu Hails Sports Renaissance
Nigeria’s sports sector has recorded significant gains under the leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC), with Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko and Director General Hon. Bukola Olopade overseeing what has been described as a strategic renaissance marked by global success, economic impact and institutional reform.
Guided by the RHINSE Blueprint between 2024 and 2025, Team Nigeria secured 373 medals globally, including 197 gold, 119 silver and 77 bronze medals, across multi-sport games, continental championships and international competitions.
The achievements have reinforced Nigeria’s growing competitiveness and ambition to position itself as Africa’s leading sports powerhouse.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while hailing the performances, said Nigeria’s athletes had once again elevated the country’s global image.
“In 2025, scores of athletes representing Nigeria made our nation proud,” the President said.
Beyond podium finishes, the NSC’s reforms delivered measurable economic outcomes.
The sports sector mobilized ₦50 billion in private capital, the highest private-sector commitment secured through the Sports Investment Promotion Office, and contributed 1.2 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product by the third quarter of 2025.
Major sporting events also generated more than 140,000 jobs, combining direct and indirect employment nationwide.President Tinubu underscored the broader value of sports to national development, describing it as a unifying force.
“Sports is one of our strongest brands as a nation. It unifies us, breaks all our fault lines, inspires belief, and builds a sense of community that cuts across age, language, ethnicity, religion and social status,” he said.
The period also produced historic milestones, including Nigeria’s world No. 1 ranking in Scrabble and the country’s first-ever entry into the Bobsleigh World Cup, highlighting expanded participation beyond traditional sports.
Central to the progress was the introduction of a unified sports funding architecture, approved at the presidential level to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks and streamline funding across federations.
President Tinubu said the results demonstrated the impact of structured support.
“From grassroots competitions to continental and global stages, the evidence is clear that when talent is supported with structure and preparation, Nigeria delivers,” the President said.
The NSC said the reforms position sports as both a performance-driven and economically viable sector, with long-term benefits for athletes, institutions and the wider Nigerian economy.
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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