Sports
EDO 2020 NSF Has Uncovered Diverse Talents-Minister
Joel Ajayi
After 11 days of serious competition amongst different athletes from different part of the country at the ongoing 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) in Benin, Edo state capital, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development Chief Sunday Dare has expressed pleasure over the skills, talents on display by participants.
Sports minister who spared no effort to ensure the event hold after series of challenges, while speaking after watching some of the life games said he was thrilled with successes recorded so far.
Chief Dare then charged victorious athletes to remain disciplined and focused while he asked those who didn’t make it to the podium to remain resilient.
According to him “We have witnessed a lot of display of talents and skills in the last 11 days. Wrestling is part of our great hope when it comes to the Olympics, both the male and female categories, I see a lot of young people who have a future in wrestling.
“So far, I am excited about the excitement I have seen in all the centers I have been to. My message is that they need to remain disciplined and focused and also display the spirit of sportsmanship. I have seen those that have won, have seen those that have lost and I see that spirit of comradeship, the future is great for most of those young athletes.
“This thing wouldn’t have been possible without the ministry of youth and sports. It wouldn’t have been possible without the Edo state government. if not for the Covid-19 pandemic, it was just five days, everything was set then the pandemic came in, and within one year we all have to recover. So we are happy this partnership continues for the sake of the youth and for the sake of sport development in our country.
“Even from here, we can see track and field records are being broken, we’ve seen new people that qualified. This is what we expected from this sports festival. That’s why we call it Nigerian Olympics. I am very hopeful that if we get all of these athletes into camp, get them in shape, get them focused we support them. These groups of people, sports men and women will do Nigerian great at the Olympics.
“I have already programmed myself here as the sports Minister for the federal republic of Nigeria Oyo is as important as Kano, Benue as Edo because my terrain is the entire country. I just want to see that it’s fair and the best person wins. The refereeing is excellent and we see that all of the athletes are equally executing their best skills here, which are what is important.”
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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