Sports
IDSPD 2023: Push for Peace and Development Through Sports –FAME Foundation
The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), observed on April 6 each year, provides a chance to commemorate the important role that sport and physical exercise play in communities and people’s lives around the world.
In acknowledgement of sport’s broad significance, the global theme of IDSDP 2023 is “Scoring for People and the Planet”.
IDSDP emphasizes how effective sports are at uniting people and fostering change in society. Sports have a special capacity to break down boundaries and foster understanding between people from different cultures, beliefs, and origins.
It also emphasizes the significance of gender equality by encouraging women to participate in sports and offers them chances to develop their confidence, leadership abilities, and self-esteem.
Speaking in Abuja, the Executive Director of FAME Foundation, Arabinrin Aderonke Ogunleye-Bello has urged all organizations to promote peace building and development while acknowledging significance of this day.
“I am pleased to see sports being used not only to promote gender equality, but also as a unifier and a means of bringing people together regardless of color, ethnicity, religion, or tribe. Sports is a force for goodwill and progress, so I urge all governmental bodies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and communities, to apply sports as one of the tools they are using to foster peace and development,” says Arabinrin Ogunleye-Bello.
Speaking further, she said other sports should be accommodated and not just football, stating that although football is the most popular sport in Nigeria, there are other sports liked by many people which could be utilized to promote peace.
“Sports like yoga, tennis, basketball, cricket, badminton and any others, could be used to advocate for development, this however, could be determined by location, cultural beliefs of project beneficiaries. For the push of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sports is an important vehicle that must be considered,” she concluded.
The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace strives to raise awareness of the enormous potential that sports offer to significantly impact society and its celebrated on April 6, every year.
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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