Handball coach pleads for ministry aid ahead W’Cup

16th April 2024

Head coach of the U-18 women’s handball team Shittu Agboola has called on the sports ministry to come to support the team as they prepare for the Women’s U-18 Handball Championship, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 10th edition of the championship is scheduled to be held from August 14 to 25 in Chuzhou, People’s Republic of China.

Nigeria have been paired in Group B alongside European giant Croatia, Montenegro and Angola, who fell to the coach Agboola-tutored side in the third-place match of the 2023 Africa U-18 Women’s Handball Championship in Monastir, Tunisia.

While admitting that his side had been paired in one of the toughest groups, Agboola said Nigeria, who are the second best team globally at the IHF Women’s Trophy 2023/24, can qualify from the group but used the opportunity to call on the ministry to support the team.

“Nigeria will be playing against top handballing nations in Croatia and Montenegro as well Angola who is a big name in handball. But for us we respect teams but we are not afraid of any team as we have the best strategy that we will use to curtail them,” the coach said.

“The HFN has been doing good in building our team to be reckoned with. We have been to five tournaments since 2023 and we have finished on the podium so we believe we will do well

“Our target is to qualify from the group before other objectives. This is why we are pleading with the Ministry of Sports to assist the HFN so that we can have the best preparation. This is the world championship and Nigeria qualified for the first time in history and a lot of support is needed so we can be in camp for a longer while. We hope the Ministry of Sports will support us.”

Nigeria’s U-18 women’s handball team qualified for the World Championship for the first time in their history after defeating Morocco in the quarter-finals of the Africa U-18 Women’s Handball Championship in Monastir Tunisia last year.

They lost to Egypt in the semi-finals but went on to finish third in the Nations Cup after defeating Angola in the third-place match.

The team comfortably dominated the IHF Women’s Trophy in the Africa Zone 3 phase and continental phase in Ghana and Congo Brazzaville respectively before losing to Kosovo in the final of the IHF Women’s Trophy Intercontinental Phase in Uzbekistan to finish second in the global championship.

SOURCE:PUNCH

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