Sports

Nigeria’s Teqball Has Potential to Rule the World -Hungarian Embassy

Published

5 years ago

April 14, 2021

The Gleamer

….Teqball may debut in the Next NSF-President

….over 26 Coaches, 25 Referees certified

Joel Ajayi

Hungarian Teqball Instructor Fordos Soma, has revealed that the game of Teqball is on the rise in the Nigeria, saying that with level of seriousness on the part of all stakeholders in the country, there is a better future for the game.

It will be recalled that as part of Nigeria Teqball Federation determination to ensure that, the game Teqball becomes a house name has since commenced campaign and awareness about the beautiful game through sharing of Teqball tables to the state and clubs as well training capacity for the stakeholders across the country.

He stated this at the press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja when 51 coaches and referees received certificate on Teqball after four-day of capacity training workshop on basic level coaching and refereeing courses organized by the federation.

While speaking, instructor Soma, said Nigeria has mental, physical and human capacity to rule the world in Teqball in the nearest future.

According to him, someone ask me today, did Nigeria disappoint me after training? And I said to him never, I met wonderful people who are committed to the development of Teqball, I believe with level of seriousness put in place here, Nigeria can be the best Teqball Nation soon.

“All they need to do is to organize and participate in a time-to-time local, National and international tournaments, this enable the country to assemble the best player and compete in the world any time any day.”

In his remark, the President, Nigeria Teqball Federation, NIGTEQ, Engr Habu Gumel expressed: “I am happy to say that Teqball is progressing. It’s a new game in Nigeria and I am happy to says it’s been recognized by Nigerian Olympic Committee.

“Within a few period of time international Teqball sent 56 tables which was judiciously distributed to states and we applied for instructors for capacity building which we have done today, they have trained a lot of coaches and referees and we have charged them to go out to their various state for Teqball development.

“The Teqball federation board is going to meet and put in place the programme for the year, we are not going to involves international championship because we are new but by the year 2022 Nigeria will start participating in international competition and for this year it’s going to be national championship

“For now our intention is to have recognition of ministry because we are all over the states before the next National Sports Festival NSF, we are going to apply and if we are lucky at National Council of Sports Teqball may be accepted for NSF either through demonstration or participation and we shall leave no stone unturned to ensure we secure that recognition and approval.” He said.

In his addressed the Hungarian Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Sandor Beer, said the embassy is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure development of sports in Nigeria saying that, the relationship with Nigerian government has grown even stronger

“we also, have others plan, we are going to start Chess, Table-Tennis tourney soon.”

While giving votes of thanks, the General Secretary of the federation, Mr Ndudi Edede thanked Hungarian Embassy for their effort toward teqball development in Nigeria saying that the capacity training would help in the growth of the game in the country noting that subsequent trainings will be organised within the year.

Although 31 participants took part in the training 25 passed as Referees while 26 passed as coaches. That means most of the participants passed both coaching and refereeing exams however, they are expected to major in one. This is because one cannot be a coach and a referee in same sports.

While five failed the exams and we’re not issued certificate

Teqball is a ball sport that is played on a curved table, combining elements of football and table tennis . Back and forth, the players hit a football with any part of the body except arms and hands.

Teqball was first introduced in Nigeria by the Hungarian Embassy in 2018 but gained official recognition on January 2021 when the National Olympic Committee, NOC granted approval for the establishment of Nigeria Teqball Federation, NIGTEQ

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Sports

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

Published

20 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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