Sports
Sunday Dare’s Three Years of Quintessential Sports Leadership and Administration
Like they say, “how time flies!” It is already three years since Sunday Dare’s emergence as Nigeria’s Minister for Youth and Sports Development. Three years ago, the honourable Minister was saddled with the dual responsibility of taking care of the sports sector, just as the vigour of the youthful population.
In three years, Sunday Dare has led from the front, in facilitating sports development at all levels and catalyzing Nigeria to record-breaking feats in sports.
Just a number of weeks ago, Nigeria posted its best ever performance in the history of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Team Nigeria won 12 Gold, 9 Silver and 14 Bronze Medals. In the run up to the Games, Sunday Dare reiterated on numerous occasions the need for Nigerian athletes to compete and deliver podium performances and not just make up the numbers. This was achieved, as a scientific process was initiated by the minister to focus on sports where the country had comparative advantage.
Moreso, at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Nigeria broke a 13-year record with its Silver and Bronze Medal win, while also winning four Gold, one silver and seven Bronze medals at the Paralympic Games.
As part of the mechanism put in place to bring the best out of Nigerian athletes, the Minister initiated the Adopt-an-Athlete Programme, which has provided grants for over 45 athletes from corporate bodies and individuals. Athletes such as Oluwatobiloba Amusan, Ese Brume etc have benefitted from the initiative while the National Basketball teams enjoyed $5000,000 grants.
Another programme, this time, to rejuvenate sports infrastructures in the country is the Adopt-a-Facility initiative to rejuvenate and reinvigorate sports infrastructures in the country. This programme led to the revamping of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, which has now been approved by both FIFA and CAF. Since its reopening, the facility in has hosted the Senior National Men’s and Women’s Team (Super Eagles and Super Falcons), the Flying Eagles (U-20 Boys), Falconets (U-20 Girls), The Golden Eaglets (U-17 Boys), as well as The Flamingoes (U-17 Girls). Other facilities such as the National Stadium, Surulere, Daura Township Stadium, Liberty Stadium, Ibadan are also benefitting from the scheme.
The National Principal’s Cup has unearthed almost a generation of super stars for the country but it went into comatose for 25 years. Sunday Dare’s grassroots development drive led to the revival of the Principal’s Cup in 2021, encompassing different Sports for schools from all geo-political zones of the country.
Furthermore, in a bid to make sports lucrative and profitable, Sunday Dare pushed for the reclassification of sports as a business. This has been approved by the Federal Executive Council. The minister has continually refined Nigeria’s sporting balance, signing MoUs with Spain, Turkey, Portugal et al, to comparatively juxtapose Nigerian sports with the most refined on the international space.
The National Sports Festival, the National Youth Games, Talent Hunt Programmes are a few amongst many other programmes changing the narrative for Nigerian grassroots sports development, which has enjoyed unwaivering attention and support from the minister, as a result of his unbridled commitment for development.
Welfare of athletes has also remained a top priority for Sunday Dare, since the inception of his tenure. Through the Athletes’ Welfare Scheme, athletes renumeration for medal winners climbed to an unprecedented 300%.
Living no strand of doubt, it has been three years of a progressive trajectory for sports in the country. Football at the grassroot level has thrived in many ways with tangible successes recorded (the last of which were recorded at the WAFU B junior championships).
With even more reforms set to be finalized, one can only raise a thumb, perhaps two thumbs to a quintessential leader, who has laid down the gauntlet and has passionately pursued success in his sector. Cheers to more success, Nigeria.
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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