Edo agrees to host national handball tourney for four years

Edo State government yesterday reached an agreement with the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) to host the National Division One Handball League in Benin City for the next four years.

The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, who received the HFN Caretaker Committee Chairman, Sam Ocheho, said the state decided to host the championship to unite with other stakeholders to grow the sport.

“I will use this opportunity to agree to a four-year deal to host and sponsor the Division One Handball League, which will start from the next edition in November. We are happy with what the HFN is doing by taking the sports to all part of the country.

“I want to challenge the HFN to grow the handball league in a way that qualification will be from state leagues, which in essence provide jobs for players, coaches, backroom staff and other stakeholders up to the national level,” Shaibu said.

Shaibu, who lauded the HFN for securing sponsor for the Premier League, also applauded the Sokoto State government for funding the National U-15 and U-12 championships since 2020.

Earlier, Ocheho had hailed the Edo State government for providing the facilities and other logistics for the ongoing Edo 2020 championship. He then called for more support for handball, saying the sport has the potential of projecting the country in good light.

The HFN boss added that his desire was to take the game to an enviable height with the support of government, private sector and every stakeholder, while calling on the Edo government to support the Edo Dynamos, who will represent the country at the Africa Club Championship in Morocco next month.