Federal Sports ministry fast-tracks grooming of Handball talents, officials, in North West
The Federal Ministry of Sports has promised to provide an enabling environment for the grooming of Sports talents and officials in the North West geo-political zone.
Abdullahi Idris, Zonal Sports Officer in charge of the zone, made the pledge in Kaduna on Wednesday at the closing ceremony of a three-day clinic, organised for Handball Games Masters and Refereess in the zone.
He expressed optimism that the clinic would serve as a stepping stone for young referees to emerge from the zone.
He said the grading of the 30 participants from seven states that participated in the clinic, would be facilitated through a two weeks course, as suggested by the resource person.
Idris advised the participants to come together as a body, to enable them forge ahead.
Also speaking, immediate past North West Representative on the board of Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Alhaji Musa Hamza, said that the clinic was organised to groom new referees in the zone.
“North West is left behind in the field of officiating; right now, the referees from the zone are senior; if they retire, there will be no replacement, hence the need to organise the clinic,” he explained.
Hamza, who is the Chairman of Kano State Handball Association, said that from the discussions with participants, the exercise was a success, and the beneficiaries were ready to impart the knowledge on others.
The Chief Resource Person at the clinic, James Ahmadu, a retired International Handball Federation (IHF) Referee, said he came from Benue State to serve as resource person to set the stage for the grooming of new officials for the North West.
“North West is bereft of referees; now that emphasis is placed on youth referees, we decided to start from North West,” he said.
Nazifi Ahmed from Kano, Captain of the Clinic, said the exercise had been a rewarding experience.
“I learnt a lot that I did not know before,” he said, promising to pass the knowledge garnered, to the young ones.
