Sports
Customs CG Highlights Importance of Sponsoring Volleyball Tournament, Over 700 Youths Benefit
…Pledges more developmental programs
By Joel Ajayi
Sponsoring sports tournaments in Nigeria brings numerous benefits to youth development, as demonstrated by the recently concluded 2024 Nigeria Volleyball Premier League (NVPL).
The tournament, sponsored by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, in collaboration with the Volleyball Federation, provided opportunities for over 700 Nigerian youths to participate and benefit.
The 2024 NVPL, divided into two thrilling phases, concluded at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, with winners in the male and female categories taking home over ₦24 million in prize money.
At the finals in Abuja, the male category winners received ₦10 million, while the second- and third-place teams were awarded ₦6 million and ₦4 million, respectively. The female category followed the same prize structure, ensuring parity between genders.
Speaking during the presentation of prizes and trophies on Saturday, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi emphasized the tournament’s positive impact on Nigerian youths and pledged to continue supporting similar initiatives in 2025.
“We are not only proud to sponsor this tournament but also proud of the support from the Volleyball Federation and the entire volleyball community,” he said.
“These past two weeks have been filled with excitement and entertainment. Watching young talents demonstrate such skill and dedication has been truly inspiring. The admiration and enthusiasm from the crowd confirm that this has been a resounding success.”
Highlighting the importance of the tournament, CGC Adeniyi noted:
“This event involved about 10 female and 10 male teams, which means nearly 600 athletes from across Nigeria participated. Beyond the players, there were coaches, officials, and federation members who played key roles in making this happen. This tournament has positively engaged so many people, taking them away from crime-prone activities and channeling their energy into sports and development.
“Furthermore, it creates a platform for discovering talents who can represent Nigeria on the international stage. In the past few years, our teams have struggled to qualify for major tournaments, but I believe this initiative marks a turning point.”
On revitalizing the Customs volleyball teams, he acknowledged the challenges of aging players and the need for fresh talent.
“For any team to succeed, youthful energy and determination are essential. We will return to the drawing board, inject new talent into our male and female teams, and ensure they are ready for next season. We are also planning to host more tournaments in Nigeria and will work hard to present strong, competitive teams capable of becoming champions again.”
The President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Engineer Musa Nimrod, expressed gratitude to CGC Adeniyi for his unwavering support for the sport.
“We deeply appreciate the CGC for coming to our aid and sponsoring this Premier League. Public-private partnerships like this are vital for sports development, and this collaboration has been exceptional. With this level of support, I am confident we will achieve even greater milestones in 2025,” Nimrod said.
At the conclusion of the 2024 NVPL, the Nigeria Customs Service team emerged victorious in the women’s category, while the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) team claimed the championship in the men’s category.
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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