Former Chairperson of Lagos State Handball Association and sponsor of “Opeifa Cup 2025” Mrs. Adeola Opeifa, has disclosed that talents discover from the Lagos State Secondary Schools Handball Competition will form parts of team players at different national youth levels.
She noted the programme has contributed so much to the development of handball in the state and generally in the country.
Speaking at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba, where 82 secondary schools are participating in the championship established seven years ago, Opeifa highlighted that the vision was to promote the game of handball and mentor the young talented players into wholesome ambassadors of the community.
She said, “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 life because some of them were picked from the streets and brought back to schools, and today they are great guys.”
Opeifa added that this year’s event was planned to discover those that 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 penciled down will be subjected to further training in preparations for the 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,” said Adeola Opeifa.
According to Coach Daniel Yohanna he said described the performance of each team as impressive as 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,Eletu among others.