Sports

We will use your money judiciously – Gusau assures NFF’s partners and sponsors

Published

4 years ago

November 7, 2022

Joel Ajayi

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has provided the Federation’s corporate partners and sponsors with strong assurance that the new NFF administration will put their monies to judicious use in developing the game of football in Nigeria to the benefit of all stakeholders.

At warm and insightful interactions with a number of the partners and sponsors in Lagos on Monday, the NFF supremo, in company with immediate past NFF boss and FIFA Council Member, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi and Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, expressed heartfelt appreciation to the frontline corporates and appealed for even greater support for the Nigeria game at this time.

Pinnick’s role, described as noble and in the national interest by Gusau, was to formally introduce the new NFF President to the corporate partners, most of them brought on board by the former helmsman.

“For the first time in decent memory in Nigeria Football, we had a rancour-free transition from one Executive team to the other. It is as a result of the deep respect and strong passion for Nigeria Football and the Nigeria nation that we all share. It is for this reason that I have decided to introduce the new helmsman to you in order that you can continue to interact with and support him and the Federation to achieve their vision and mission,” Pinnick said at the office of MTN Nigeria (NFF’s official telecommunications partner), with Chief Executive Officer Carl Toriola, Chief Operating Officer Hassan Jaber, Chief Corporate Services Officer Tobechukwu Okigbo and Chief Marketing Officer Adia Sowho all seated.

In his remarks, Gusau thanked MTN for their strong support to Nigeria Football and Nigeria sports generally: “We appreciate what you have been doing for the game of football and we want you to continue, and even do more so that the new Board can be enabled to work assiduously to lift the Nigeria game to new heights. We apologize for the inability of the Super Eagles to qualify for the FIFA World Cup starting in Qatar next week but we want to use this opportunity to commence the hard work necessary to avoid such mis-step in the future.

“I am assuring you that whatever funds come through you will be put to judicious use as we are presently cutting down on expenses to ascent prudence and manage available resources to achieve the best results.”

Toriola responded that having signed a long-term contract with the football body, his organization would not break same because of a missed World Cup tournament. “We will continue to support the Federation until Nigeria football gets to the level it should be internationally. We must re-energize ourselves for the work at hand. I must commend Mr. Pinnick’s exceptional dynamism and the MTN commits to supporting the new administration.”

The same theme of appreciation and pledges of judicious use of funds and optimization of resources ran through the other meetings, with Executive Vice President of AITEO Group (NFF’s official optimum partner), Mr. Francis Peters pledging his company’s continued support and encouragement to the new Board.

At Premier Lotto, the Managing Director Mr. Adebisi Adebutu said his company will explore even other areas they can support the NFF, in addition to the present partnership agreement. “I must say that we had a wonderful relationship with the Board headed by Mr. Pinnick and we believe we will have same cordial relationship with the new Board.”

Stanbic IBTC (NFF’s official bank) also pledged continued support to the NFF, through Charles Omoera, Chief Executive: “We are particularly interested in the women’s football and youth programs you have enunciated and are ready and willing to commit to these programmes to develop Nigeria’s future legends and icons of the game.”

NFF’s chief marketing consultant, Mr. Mike Itemuagbor lauded the peaceful elections that brought in Gusau, and commended the role being played by Pinnick. “Pinnick has stout corporate drive and high relevance, and I believe he will help the new Board in that area. We will give ample support to the new Board but we want you to beware of the antics of ambush marketers and put stern measures in place to discourage them.

“Pamodzi Sports Marketing will be there for the new Board and will provide advice when necessary, because football is a passion that runs through the blood of every Nigerian and brings all of us together.”

Sanusi added that indeed, without Pamodzi Sports Marketing, things would have been a lot more difficult for a number of NFF administrations over the past two decades

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Sports

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

Published

8 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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