Sports

Improving Officiating in NPFL is Work in Progress

Published

3 years ago

January 24, 2024

Joel Ajayi

As the mid-season break commenced after Matchday 19 over the weekend, Davidson Owumi, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) looked back at the proceedings and noted that there has been marked improvement in several aspects of the league organization.

Assessing the performance of the Referees, the former international turned football administrator believes that officiating got better with a handful of errors that could have been erased if modern technological aids had been deployed.

“After 185 matches, we probably had issues with less than 15 and in terms of percentage, I think our Referees scored over 85 percent which represents excellence.

“We are not unmindful that football is now technologically driven for players training and match officiating where the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) now assist Referees to correct human errors”

Owumi said the NPFL is working with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other development partners towards introducing technology in the league.

He also pointed to the league’s zero tolerance for poor officiating as manifested in the swift withdrawal of culprits from officiating in matches of the NPFL.

“We worked in perfect sync with the NFF Referees Appointment Committee to organize training for selected members of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) and those who have so far been adjudged to have performed poorly were delisted for now”, Owumi told NPFL Media.

He said the NPFL prioritized the welfare of all match officials and “we not only increased their travel allowances and honorarium but also ensured their bank accounts were credited before they travel. This is unprecedented in the history of the league”.

The NPFL Boss revealed that the Referee’s performances were boosted by the special arrangement for the Matchday security squad that all clubs were mandated to provide for match officials.

“Last season, we enshrined points deduction in the Framework and Rules for any club whose fans physically attacked our Referees, and this season, we went a step further to mandate all home teams to provide Special Escort Security Squad for Match officials.

“The only breach was recorded in Gombe and Gombe United were ducked three points and three goals.

“So, overall we have made it possible for our officiating to improve considerably and will continue to explore opportunities to attain the global best rating. It’s a work in progress”, Owumi concluded.

The 2023/24 NPFL mid-season commenced on January 19, 2024, and the season will resume on February 3, 2024.

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Sports

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

Published

21 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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