Sports

Dangote Group Hands Over Rehabilitated MKO Abiola Stadium Pitch, Ministry

Published

5 years ago

December 3, 2021

Pitch has World’s most modern Paspalum grass-Dare

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development today formally received the rehabilitated Moshood Abiola Stadium pitch and Digital Score-boards from the Dangote Industries Group (DIG) that revived it after years of neglect under the “Adopt-a-pitch” initiative of the Honourable Minister, Sunday Dare.

In his remarks, as the representative of the Chairman of Dangote Industries Group (DIG), Aliko Dangote, the Executive Director, Stakeholder Management and Corporate Communications of the Group, Alh. Mansur Ahmed stated that the formal hand-over of the rehabilitated pitch is a testimony of the commitment of the company to sports development and supporting Football – the foremost sports, Nigerians are passionate about.

“As we all know, Nigerian players are international but until now, we don’t have an international standard facility and our commitment is to work with the Ministry to make sure that this particular facility remains of international standard. We are therefore happy to contribute by this renovation, and by the arrangement to maintain it for the next two years”, Mr. Ahmed added.

The Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Ismaila Abubakar lauded the Dangote Group for believing in the vision of the Minister and the Ministry and exemplifying a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) that works. He restated the commitment of the Ministry to ensure that the new facility is put to productive use and properly maintained.

In his submission, the Special Adviser to the President on Sports, a former Nigerian International, Daniel Amokachi showered encomiums on the Minister for his foresight in thinking out of the box to fix the dilapidated pitch. He charged the Dangote Group to consider extending the period of maintenance beyond 2 years, stating that after expending $1m to renovate the facility, long-term maintenance is paramount.

Whilst receiving the formal handover documents from the Executive Director, Projects, Aron Nigeria Ltd, Soji Adeniji – the contractor handling the project, the Minister lauded the contractor and the Dangote Group for completing the project in record time, despite constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“By the words of the experts here and those that have toured the facility, we have the latest grass here – Paspalum grass, one of the best, when we talk about football pitches across the World. Something exactly similar to what we have in Qatar, that will be used for the World Cup next year.

“We thank Alh. Aliko Dangote for opening his doors to us, and accepting to adopt the Moshood Abiola Stadium when we came up with our ‘Adopt-a-Pitch’ proposal. We salute his commitment that culminated in the completion of the project today, inclusive of maintenance for at least two years,” Dare emphasized.

The renovated pitch, aside from the new Digital Score-boards, has a nursery being cultivated to produce fresh grass to replace withered ones when necessary, and sprinklers to keep the grass lush green all year round.

Only a few months ago, the President of the World Soccer Governing Body, FIFA, Gianni Infantino, while on a visit to the Stadium, commended the quality of the new pitch and promised to facilitate the hosting of international matches on it.

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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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