Sports

NPFL Playoff: Go and secure Promotion Ticket, Mourktar Charges EFCC team

Published

3 years ago

June 20, 2023

Joel Ajayi

Ahead of the all important play off matches for promotion into the summit Nigeria League, Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), the FCT FA Chairman, Adam Mouktar Mohammed, is urging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Football Club (EFCCFC), to go all out to secure the promotion by grabbing the ticket.

In a press statement issued by the Media Adviser Uche Nwudoh on Tuesday revealed that, the newly re-elected FCT FA Chairman, Mouktar at the recent FCT Board elections, made this admonition when he visited the team at their training ground, Area 3, FCT Abuja charged the team to arrest promotion ticket.

According to the statement I want to commended your never give up spirit, we are proud of for your achievements so far.
“Now we are at the door step. We are very proud of you. You can’t get to success without making sacrifice. You are on the verge of making names for yourself and your immediate family.” He said.

The FCT FA Chairman, added, “We are looking at pushing you to succeed. We are ready and I can tell you that we would do everything to support you. Let’s go and try and fight and also have believe that we can get it. I charge you be disciplined and committed. Your mental state will be very important”.

Mouktar further stressed the need for the team to be focus.

He said, “Keep focus. Take a game at a time. Don’t allow distractions. I am very confident you will get the ticket”
“You are the main actor. You play football because of passion, dream and love. Not necessarily because of money. The sacrifice element must be there. Go there, get the ticket and write your name in gold”.

“I am very proud of the coaching team who have worked hard to get to where we are. Abuja fans have yearned for this. God has brought it now and this is natural. All residents of the FCT are behind you and I know God will perfect it”.

In his usual magnanimous spirit to motivate and support, Mouktar, donated the sum of Three Hundred Thousand (#300,000.00) to the players and some Footballs to the team. He promised to also reward the Coaches for their efforts, adding that, bigger rewards await the team after their successful outing at the playoff.
In his reaction, the team Captain, Icha Emmanuel, thanked the chairman for his visit and support always.

“Congratulations on your reelection. It is because of your hard work and commitment to the growth of football in Nigeria and particularly, the FCT. We are very grateful sir”. “Like you said, everything is not money. It is passion, motivation and commitment. We would bring the ticket to Abuja to celebrate. This support and everything is a big motivation for the team. We pray for more blessings sir”.

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Sports

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

Published

7 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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