Sports
Aquatic Federation plans big for swimming in 2022
The Aquatic Federation of Nigeria has said that Nigerians should expect to see more activities in the Federation in 2022 stressing that their swimmers would be fully engaged so as to put them in top shape to compete at any international swimming competition.
President of the Federation, Chinoye Daphey Aliy who stated this in her New Year message expressed happiness with the modest achievement they were able to achieve in 2021 despite the short period they had last year to work, and with the covid-19 pandemic that stalled most sporting activities all over the world.
Nevertheless, Madam Daphey maintained that the Federation is not allowing the challenges of 2021 to distract them in their quest to ensure that Nigerian swimmers get the best of 2022.
“Firstly, I want to thank the Almighty God for allowing us to see this 2022. 2021 was not that easy with our swimmers. But thank God all those are gone with 2021 and 2022 provides us with a fresh opportunity to begin afresh, and it is our plan to make judicious use of every week, and month of the year to engage our swimmers.”
The Aquatic Federation president revealed that the board would be meeting in early January to roll out their program for the year while assuring that the meeting would definitely come up with decisions that would definitely move Nigeria swimming in the right direction. More so, she maintained that unlike before, Nigeria swimming news would feature more regularly in the news media to enable Nigerians to follow the activities of the Federation and Nigerians swimmers.
“I want to assure you that swimming is going to take a different direction in Nigeria, unlike in the past where you hardly know about the happenings with Nigerian swimmers, this time around, our activities would be adequately projected in the media because we believe that it is only through that we would be able to get the attention of the sponsors.
“It is the mandate of this current board to produce swimmers that would be able to compete favorably with their counterpart in the rest of the world and be in a position to win medals at the Olympics.”
“I want to use this opportunity to wish our swimmers, stakeholders, friends of the Federation, my fellow board members, and particularly, the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday are a prosperous 2022, she concluded.
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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