Sports

Abuja International Marathon 5km race is open but prizes are for students

Published

3 years ago

April 20, 2023

Joel Ajayi

Only students from Nigeria secondary schools, either private or government-owned, who are 17 years or below are the only ones eligible for prizes to be awarded to winners of the 5km Student Race in the Abuja International Marathon slated for April 29, 2023.

Speaking to the media in Abuja on Thursday FCT Director of School Sports Adamu Hashimu said the essence of the 5km race is to encourage our youth to embrace road races and marathons,

“Nigerians who are familiar with the performances of our people will remember that when the world record in the marathon was 2 hours: 08 minutes, Nigerians like Abass Mohammed and Yohanna Waziri were running 2 hours 14 hours a very good time that has won about seven editions of the Lagos Marathon. In the FCT Sports Department, we have our own Hulda Nwokocha who once placed 5^th in the marathon at the World Universities Games.

“So, we need to start a development program that see our students especially those from the Northern part of Nigeria, who have similar physiological traits with Kenyans and Ethiopians, embrace the culture of marathon and road races at a tender age”

Hashimu also said that before prizes are paid the race organizers, Unicentral Resources Generation Limited and FCTA will confirm the information on the entry form of the winners from their respective schools.

The Abuja International Marathon, the first international marathon in Abuja and FCT will hold on April 29, 2023.

The race is in three categories: the 5km Students Race, the 10km Family Run and the 42.195 km Full Marathon.

The race starts at the City Gate and ends at Eagles Square.

Build-up activities begin on Friday, April 21, 2023, with the Marathon Expo at The Pavilion, beside International Conference Center opposite Radio House.

The Expo opens at 9 am and ends at 6 pm.

Registration which is free is still going on at the Expo venue, the office of Unicentral at Ogun House, CDB Abuja, and the Sports Department of FCT, also intending runners can simply register at abujainternationalmarathon.com.

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Sports

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

Published

11 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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