Sports
Kada Queens, Kada Stars Hockey Teams Return To Nigeria with Bronze Medal from Africa Cup for Club Championship
Joel Ajayi
The Kada Queens Hockey Team of Nigeria who etched their name in African Hockey history by clinching the bronze medal at the just-concluded 25th Women’s Africa Cup for Club Champions (ACCC) in far-away Egypt returns to the country on Monday.
It will be recalled that just a few days ago, the Kaduna-based women’s team and Nigeria’s representatives, Kada Queens, emerged as bronze medal winners at the 26th Africa Cup for Club Hockey Championship in Ismailia, Egypt.
The Queens beat the Kenyan side, Mombasa, 1-0 in a keenly contested match. The Nigerian club finished 2nd in Group B after winning 3 out of 4 games to qualify for the knockout phase.
Also, their male counterpart, Kada Stars, who participated in the same tournament, could not win, but one of their players, James Smalia, won the highest goal scorer of the tournament as a consolation prize for the male team as well, returning home.
The team arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday at 2:00 pm, where they were welcomed by Nigerian and hockey enthusiasts.
Speaking was an elated coach of the two teams, Abdullahi Babagana. “I wouldn’t say I’m not excited. I am, but it was not what we planned for. We planned to clinch the gold medal, but at the end of the day, all short, we got the bronze medal. We still thank and appreciate God for giving us the bronze medal. It’s not really easy.
“In fact, the weather, whatever you call it, the journey, the stress, it begins with a lot of good things, wonderful performances from them. So we thank God. But it’s a lesson. We’ve learned our lesson against next year’s African Club Championship. When we go back there, it will be a different ball game. I believe, with the experience they gained, we will do better.”
When asked whether the team had learned anything from the tournament, he replied, “Well, you know, when we left, we left on the 29th, getting there on the 30th. On the 30th was our first match. We got to the hotel around five to six in the morning, and the match was scheduled for 10 o’clock. So there was no rest, we rushed into it. Some of them did not even take breakfast, and it was not easy. That was how it started, and that was the match we lost.
Losing a match in a tournament of this nature, you know, it’s always a problem. Maybe by next year, the preparation will be early, we’ll go early, and all this will not affect us, and I believe we’ll do better. I commended my players for standing against strong opposition and coming back with the bronze medal. It was a great competition for us. We’ve added to our experience as a team.”
He, however, expressed gratitude to the Kaduna state government for ensuring that the teams participated in the championship despite the meager resources of the state.
On her part, the team’s captain of Kada Queens, John Alfa Cornelius, expressed that the late arrival to the venue really affected the team’s performance: “Really, the bronze medal is not our target, but that is the game. We still appreciate God for that. We arrived late, and we swung into action, but we couldn’t meet up.”
Two other Nigerian clubs in the women’s category, Delta Queens and Plateau Queens, finished respectively 3rd and 4th in Groups B and A.
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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