Sports

Unity Preseason Tournament Organizers Appreciate Nigerians

Published

4 years ago

October 30, 2022

The organizers of the Unity Preseason Tournament have expressed their sincere appreciations to various Football stakeholders in the country for rallying round them to ensure the successful completion of tournament which has been become the flagship in the Northern part of the country.

Speaking immediately after the final match held at the weekend, the General Coordinator of the tournament, Patrick Ngwaogu (Odogwu Ndi Abia) said the response of the stakeholders showed wide acceptability. “we thank the President of the Nigeria Football Federation Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau who took time out of his tight schedule to watch some matches. We appreciate the First Vice President of the Federation Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu who took time out to watch the final match, we are very appreciative to the Chairman of Chairmen Alhaji Ahmed Fresh who happens to be the Coordinator of the football family in the North Central zone, he personally bankrolled the payment of our medical teams at the tournament, Cone Sports company was wonderful, they kitted our finalists, former FCT FA Chairman Emmanuel Attah provided us with all the individual awards, Cool/Wazobia /Nigeria Info FM that availed us with their platforms to reach out widely, our official media partners, ECN Global Ltd, Zoomax and PIKINOFGOD Ltd, the Sports Writers of Nigeria and many more too numerous to mention. Finally, the support of the FCT Football Association led by Alhaji Murthar Abba Muhammed can not be quantified. We are grateful to the entire residents of the Federal Capital Territory for their words of encouragement “the former FCT First Vice Chairman said.

An elated Ngwaogu promised a better tournament in the next edition, appealing to the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation and that of various leagues to provide a stable calendar for Nigeria Leagues, to enable the organizers of the Preseason Tournaments also plan adequately for the betterment of the country’s football.

The Unity Preseason Tournament is in its second edition. Plateau United won the first edition defeating Nasarawa United by a lone. EFCC FC defeated same Nasarawa United to emerge winner’s in the just concluded edition.

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Sports

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

Published

2 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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