Sports

MOK Foundation President empathizes early exposure of youths to sports

Published

2 years ago

September 4, 2024

Youths’ early engagement in sports has been described as means to nurturing them to greatness.

The Founder of MOK Foundation, Muhydeen Kayode Okunlola gave the advice when he received players and officials of Olalomi Royal VC in his office on Monday.

Okunlola who is also the Principal Partner of Luxiar Construction Limited reemphasize his commitment in youth empowerment and which has inspired him to venture into sports like football, volleyball and other series of sports, stressing that it will make any youths that have talents to showcase it from the grassroots to international scene.

“What inspired me to go into sports development is because I am a youth and I believe in youth empowerment and I believe venturing into sports like football, volleyball and other series of it makes the youth that have talents to be able to showcase their talents from the grassroots to international,” he said.

He further stressed that, doing this will help them to focus on their goals and for them to get to fit into it in other to help them achieve their goals.

Okunlola also noted that, a lot of graduates are knowledgeable in terms of skills in different kinds of games, saying that if the foundation can venture into such, it will help them achieve their dreams and make the nation proud.

While commenting on what he has seen on the Olalomi Royal Queens, the sports philanthropist affirmed his impression with the results so far, noting that the team has full potential to grow and compete in top leagues in Nigeria just as he commended the club for impressive showing of bravery and determination.

The Chairman of Olalomi Royal Volleyball Club doled out the sum of 200,000 naira to motivated the team ahead of their remaining matches at the ongoing 2024 CGC Volleyball Premier League.

Responding, Head Coach of Olalomi Royal VC, Oluwabukola Faremi, applauded Muhydeen Kayode Okunlola for his unwavering support.

Faremi revealed that the support of MOK has motivated the players to excel during the league.

The assistant head coach of Nigeria U17 Girl’s team said, “I want to applaud our Chairman, Muhydeen Kayode Okunlola for his financial support to the team. The only way we can repay him is to be amongst the top three in the first phase of the league and I am working towards it”.

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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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