Sports
Over ₦5 Million at Stake as 2025 Benue FA Chairman’s Cup Kicks Off, More Coaches Awarded Scholarships
Winners of 2025 Benue State Football Association (BSFA) Chairman’s Cup will win over N5 million prize money at the end of the second edition of the tournament geared towards discovering more grassroots talents.
BSFA Chairman, Chief Dr Paul Edeh Esq, disclosed this at the kick-off of the competition in Makurdi, Benue State capital.
The breakdown of the prize monies, according to the Benue FA Chairman, will see winners of both men and women categories smile home with N2 million, while the runners-up and third placed teams for both sides will receive N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.
He also said the winners, runners-up and third best sides (male and female) in the U15 grade will get N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.
Chief Edeh then charged the various Council FA Chairmen to ensure that the competition expected to produce two teams’ representatives from each Local Government Area is organised within the stipulated period.
He however, warned that “any Council FA Chairman who fails to organise Any council FA chairman who doesn’t ensure that FA Council Chairman Cup happen in the local government area and present at least two top teams as representatives to the State FA Secretariat will be suspended indefinitely.”
While reeling other criteria required at the competition, the BSFA Chairman noted that 2024 maiden edition produced Footballers who have already joined professional clubs within and outside Nigeria.
He said, “We made a lot of progress, in that a lot of young boys were discovered in this competition last year. Some of them went to play with Lobi Stars, others went to play for various teams across the Nigeria Premier League (NPFL) teams. That for me, is progress.
“I also want to acknowledge the effort of all the coaches in Benue State who have been consistent, in view of the lack of funds and still sacrifice from the little resources towards giving these young lads the very best.”
To this end, Chief Edeh announced another set of scholarships for 30 coaches – 18 who will head to Abuja for the upcoming coaching training at the Nigeria Institute For Sports (NIS) from September, and for more coaches who will excel at the end the Benue FA Chairman’s Cup later in the year.
He recalled that before now, the BSFA has given up to 20 coaches scholarships to NIS, meaning by the end of 2025, 50 coaches would have benefitted from the numerous scholarships.
The BSFA Chairman announced that soon any academy coaches without at least NIS coaching qualification will not be allowed to operate in the State.
Acting Commissioner and Permanent Secretary, Benue State Ministry of Youth, Sports and Creativity, Dr. Philip Nongu, commended the exploits of the current BSFA leadership saying, “First and foremost, in my 16 years as the FA secretary of this state, we have not witnessed what we have witnessed in 2 years of Chief Edeh ‘s leadership. I want to applaud him and urged the state’s FA board to do more.
“I want to say on behalf of the management and the staff of the ministry that we’re going to give you our backing. We will always support you. Do not hesitate to come to us any time you need anything.”
Head of Coaching and Training Mr. Peter Obaike, who represented the Director of Benue State Sports Council assured of their readiness to continue nurturing discovered athletes in the State.
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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