Sports

Super Eagles Striker, Ujah gets Botev PD of Bulgaria Management Role

Published

2 years ago

September 22, 2024

Imagine being actively playing professional football in Europe and your club already has management offer for you, that is the fortune of Super Eagles striker, Anthony Ujah.

Ujah, the top striker of Botev PD of Bulgaria will receive an offer to take up position at the club after hanging his boots.
The former Warri Wolves attacker is currently recovering from a serious injury he sustained in the second leg against Panathinaikos of Greece in the second qualifying round of the Europa League.

The 33-year-old footballer tore a tendon and underwent surgery. He will certainly be out of the game until the end of the autumn part of the campaign.

Anthony Uja was signed in the summer as a free agent after being released by German second division side Eintracht Braunschweig. The top scorer started his career with the yellow and black in an excellent way. In his debut against Maribor (2:1) at “College”, the Nigerian scored a goal and made an assist. He signed on in the rematch with the Slovenians and helped the team continue to the next phase.

However, the vast experience of Ujah playing his trade across three continents of Africa, Europe and Asia( he played in China at a time), his great knowledge of the game in the management as regards to African players and his top notch professionalism are the qualities that endeared Botev PD to offer him a step into a career at football management position.

Botev’s idea is for Uja to help the inclusion of young African footballers who are attracted to the club, writes “Tema sport”. The goal is their development and then sale. This is the model imposed on the canaries since the arrival of the new owner, Anton Zingarevich.

“Anthony is at a level both on and off the field. He shows our young African players how they need to work. And what they need to do to get to his level. That’s why he will probably stay in Botev even after the end of his career,” said the sports director of the yellow and black team, Artur Platek, in an interview with goal.pl.

The Polish boss is currently working on another incoming transfer. Canaries coach Dusan Kerkez wants a winger after Umeh Emmanuel was sold. Umeh was very prominent for the Flying Eagles at the 2023 FIFA U- 20 World Cup in Argentina.

And by the time the market closes, a deal could also be done for Samuel Akere. Botev has targeted a Brazilian winger, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an African player taken.

So, Ujah will be interfacing between Botev PD and the numerous football clubs/ academies in Nigeria and Africa in the transfer of greatly talented young footballers to the European for their continued development in the round leather game and future sale to other top clubs in Europe.

www.totorinews.com

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Sports

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

Published

15 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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