Sports

How NFF Received N3b In Two Years From FG – Investigation Reveals

Published

4 years ago

July 5, 2022

BSN

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have received Two Billion, nine hundred and ninety-four Million naira (N2, 994, 000, 000) from the Federal Government (FG) in the last two years, BSN Sports can authoritatively report.

An Independent investigation in review of the last two years, by BSN Sports also uncovered that the FG through Ministry of Finance released Seven hundred and fifty Million (N750m) in April 2021, with another seven hundred forty four Million (N744,000,000) in August, and also another One billion and Five hundred Million naira (N1,500,000,000) in February, 2022. This means that the Federal Government has released Two billion, nine hundred and-four Million naira (N2,994,000,000) paid directly into the NFF account in the last 15 months.

Upon asking, meanwhile, the country’s football body under the leadership of President Amaju Pinnick often claimed that there is no money in their coffers, hence the offering of the triumphant Golden Eaglets players, who conquered the West African Football Union WAFU B U17 Championship a paltry forty thousand Naira (N40,000) each.

Inspite of its financial support, Pinnick led board never came out to acknowledge the Federal Government as he had over time, boasted to FIFA President, Gianni Infantino about raising funds to run the affairs of the federation and the national teams assignments from internally generated sponsorship funds.

Under the soon expiring two-time reign of Pinnick as NFF President, the Super Eagles for the first time failed to qualify to defend the title they won in 2013. The three-time African champions could not pick the ticket for the African Nations Cup in 2015 and 2017 finals.

Recently, the Super Falcons also recorded a back-to-back failure in pursuit of an Olympic qualification tickets (2016 & 2020) and early this year, the Super Eagles were knocked out in the Round of 16 of AFCON 2020 for the first time since 1982. This followed by failure to pick the World Cup ticket on March 29, 2022.

Pinnick’s almost eight-year tenure has been enveloped with series of failures, firstly being the only NFF President where all national teams had failed to qualify for major tournaments.

Since announcing his desires not seek a third term in office, the Warri-born football administrator has turned around to lick his spit as he makes desperate move to remain in office to ground Nigerian football that had struggle for his survival in the last eight years after being re-elected in 2018.

BSN Sports further gathered that, in his desperation to stay put, he has sent top Sports administrators and three different governors to beg the sports minister to back his third term bid.

Consequently, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Sports had ordered Pinnick to make sure that the NFF Elective Congress holds in September to pave way for the new board to steer the ship of the game in the next four years.

This development has infuriated the FIFA Council member, whose plots to stage a comeback received cold shoulder from the Ministry and has since resulted in blackmailing the Federal Government and the Minister of Sports.

BSN

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

16 mins 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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