Sports

Bayelsa, Delta receive Games Torch as Ikpokpo declares Edo ready to host

Published

8 months ago

February 16, 2026

Bayelsa and Delta States took turns to receive the Niger Delta Games Torch on Monday with the Managing Director of Dunamis-Icon Limited and Lead Consultant for the Niger Delta Games, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo declaring that all is in place for Edo state to host the 2nd Niger Delta Games.

“I’m confident to say that Edo is 98% ready, the facilities that needed upgrade has been worked on to the required standard in conjunction with our sponsors, the NDDC.

“The hostels are ready, the facilities are ready, we are just waiting for the athletes to arrive”, Ikpokpo told Journalists.

He again spoke on efforts and guidelines put in place to curb the poaching of athletes by participating states.

“The essence of the games is not necessarily to win, but to discover and harness talents that can represent the Niger Delta region and our country, Nigeria.

“We have done so much to ensure states don’t poach athletes and that the athletes are within the stipulated age bracket. We also want a situation where athletes competing are representatives of those states”, he stated.

On the state of facilities for the Games, he affirmed that they were ready and urged participating states to strictly adhere to the rules of the games.

The Unity Torch was subsequently handed over to Nigeria’s former swimming star, Blessing Forcados, for onward transmission to Ondo State.

In Bayelsa, Governor Duoyo Diri, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Sports, Daniel Igali, praised the games organisers and sponsors for the initiative.

Receiving the Torch at a ceremony which took place at the Samson Siasia Complex, the Governor described the games as having placed the Niger Delta region as the leader in sport development.

“Let me thank the Niger Delta Development Commission and Dunamis Icon Limited for initiating the Games.

“With this initiative, they have placed the Niger Delta States ahead of every other region in the country. So, we commend them for this and we hope that they would even put up a bigger and better games this time”, he stated.

The Lighting of the Festival Torch represents unity of all the States in the Niger Delta region. The goal of every sporting event is to unify participating States, athletes and officials. It is used to foster a spirit of friendship and compete in a fair competitive environment.

The 2nd edition of Niger Delta Games will formally open on Friday, February 20, while the Closing ceremony takes place on Thursday, February 26.

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Sports

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

Published

7 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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