Sports
Excitement as National Women’s Championship final, Criiio Festival, take center stage in Abuja
Joel Ajayi
Abuja the nation’s capital city came alive on Tuesday as National Women’s Cricket Championship commenced in Abuja, featuring eight participating states from across the six geopolitical zones. Edo, Gombe, Ekiti, Lagos, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, and Kogi.
To this end, the first ever Criiio Festival with aim of promoting the cricket among the women will also take center stage this Saturday.
As matter of fact, the International Cricket Council (ICC) thumbed NCF in making the country the fastest-growing cricket nation in the world.
Just few weeks ago, the NCF announced the maiden edition of eveng that could be described as largest-ever Super Cricket Festival, that is meant to bring together between 600 to 1,000 female secondary school students at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, this October as way of creating more awareness for tge Game.
Now the stage is set for tge event that will bring together over 1,000 school girls in Abuja for a fun-filled event, held alongside the National Women’s Championship.
The two important event is put in place by the Nigeria Cricket Federation for awareness and investment as well as competition among the players.
While speaking the aprrss Confeence on Monday in Abuja, President of Federation Uyi Akpata who was represented by Secretary General of the Federation, Sanni Mohammed, revealed that the event is the culmination of the zonal elimination that had gone on at different cricket clusters across the nation.
“This is the national finals for the women’s focused developmental initiatives that had gone on from the first quarter of the year. It is just interesting that it is coming at this period that we had just qualified for the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup in Malaysia.
About 140 players from zonal finals in Lagos, Ekiti, Kogi, Kaduna, Gombe, Edo, Akwa Ibom, and Anambra states will join top cricket officials across the nation for the Women’s Championship.
“We are also using this event to hone the game’s administrative skills, including umpiring, scoring, and growing our coaching and live broadcasting capacities..”
Speaking on Criiio Festival, Uyi Akpata expressed: “We are launching a super female involvement in cricket through a modified format. This will be part of the Women’s Cricket Festival, where we will gather between 600 to 1,000 school girls in Abuja for a fun-filled event, held alongside the National Women’s Championship.
“We are also bringing together some of the best female cricketers in the country, with ICC women representatives in attendance. This template will be replicated across other regions of Nigeria.
“The ICC has identified two countries in Africa; Nigeria and Rwanda to lead this initiative, based on our achievements in promoting women’s cricket. We have won global and continental awards in this area, and the fruits of our investment are already beginning to show”.
He stated that, the rate of growth and the success being achieved through developmental efforts have also raised the potential for the game of cricket by providing part-time jobs, and career paths for the youths.
On her own, the Brand Ambassador for Women’s Cricket in Nigeria, Adaora Sydney-Jack highlighted that the Criiio Festival would showcase the essence of the sport, making it an opportunity for the private sector to recognize the value of investing in women’s cricket.
One of the world-class broadcaster, Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack, expressed her commitment to using her experience in community journalism to raise awareness for the game. She said:”When I look at women’s cricket in Nigeria, I see a bright future. If we take lessons from countries like India, South Africa, and Australia, we can see how they have succeeded through strategic partnerships.
“As a brand ambassador, I will focus on building strategic partnerships and community development, where cricket can play a significant role. I plan to leverage my platform in community journalism to drive this awareness
Talking about the expectations of the game, the Captains of the participating states who spoke explained the progress of Cricket in their various state and their desire to do more all boasted that they are going to win the tournament.
Captains from some of the participating teams shared their expectations ahead of the tournament, expressing their hopes for strong performances and competitive play.
However, the five-day tournament at the Criiio Festival is anticipated to create a festive atmosphere while fostering public-private partnerships in support of women’s cricket.
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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