Sports

FCT Badminton Leadership Visits Indian Head of Chancery In Nigeria

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2025

Joel Ajayi

The board of FCT Badminton Association paid a courtesy visit on the Indian embassy and were hosted by the Head of Chancery, Mr Pramod Kumar Agrawal.

In a statement Signed Head of Media FCT Badminton Association Uche Nwudoh Hillary on Wednesday in Abuja reveals that FCT Badminton Chairman Comptroller Usman Bappa(Rtd) called for collaboration with the Indian embassy and community in Nigeria to strengthen the game.

“We want to appreciate you for receiving us today. We are here to express our desire to collaborate with you, knowing fully well, that we have been observing your active participation in Badminton, not just the Indian Embassy, but also the Indian community in the FCT”.

“This is not far from the fact that, the beautiful game of Badminton has its root traced to Ancient Greek, China and India.

The FCT Badminton Chairman Usman Bappa, used the opportunity to brief his host on this board’s project of organizing a competition for out of school and in=school indigent children.

He also briefed the Indian Head of Chancery on the Area councils badminton cup which will end in a grand finale named the Nyesom Wike tournament.

“We are currently putting finishing touches to an event and project so dear to our hearts, it is called the Asian Badminton cup where other Asian communities will be involved, and not just the Indians alone. The competition is to honour the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike and the Indian community will prominently be part of it”.

The FCT Badminton Chairman Usman Bappa, stated that the board is doing their best to equip more than 45 clubs in the FCT and give players and officials periodic trainings.

The board made an appeal for equipment which are expensive due the prevailing economic hardship for the players to afford.

In his response the Head of Chancery Mr Pramod Kumar Agrawl, promised to support the FCT badminton board in the best possible way to see the growth of badminton is achieved.

He commended the initiative to include Indian and other Asian communities in competitions as it will help in the growth and participation of Badminton in the FCT.

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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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