82 schools compete at Opeifa Handball Cup
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Not less than 82 secondary schools have stormed the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba, for the Opeifa Cup 2025, with organisers declaring that talents discovered from the competition will form part of team players at different national youth levels.
Former Chairperson of Lagos State Handball Association and sponsor of the championship, Mrs Adeola Opeifa, noted the programme has contributed significantly to the development of handball in the state and generally in the country.
Speaking at the venue, where the schools are participating in the championship established seven years ago, Opeifa highlighted that the vision was to promote the game of handball and mentor young, talented players into wholesome ambassadors of the community.
“This particular programme has been able to discover those who have represented Nigeria at the junior and senior levels. We have also been able to change people’s lives because some of them were picked from the streets and brought back to schools, and today they are great guys,” she said.
Opeifa added that this year’s event was planned to discover those who will represent the state in the next National Youth Games, as they intend to inject new blood into the team, noting that training continues, and those pencilled down will be subjected to further training in preparation for subsequent championships.
“We expected 20 teams from each of the six educational districts. We have 82 schools (both junior and senior) currently participating in this year’s competition,” Opeifa said.
Coach Daniel Yohanna described the performance of each team as impressive, noting they possessed the skills of the game. He pointed out that the programme is a good avenue to encourage young players who are interested in the game of handball to showcase their skills.
Some of the schools present were Whitesand, Herbert Macaulay, Ijaye, Igbobi, Ransome Kuti, Gaskiya, Aje, Ikeja, Okesuna, Vetland, and Eletu, among others. The event started on October 27th and will end on Friday, the 31st.
