Over N20 million will be up for grabs at the Ardova sponsored Nigeria Handball Premier League whose first phase-off will be held in Benin the capital of Edo State from July 1 to July 13, 2023.
President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) Sam Ocheho stated this while throwing light on the improved partnership the HFN entered with its new sponsors, Ardova Plc.
According to Ocheho who is also the current President of the Confederation of African Handball (CAHB) West Africa Zone 3, the two top teams in both categories (Men and Women) will get N2 million each as prize money.
Similarly, the two teams to finish second on the logs will each get a reward of N1.5million, while the sides to place third in the two categories will go home with N1m.
Meanwhile, half-a-million has been earmarked as subsidy to be given to each of the 22 teams (12 men’s and 10 women’s teams) that will take part in the championships in Benin.
At the unveiling ceremony of the new sponsors in Lagos, Mr Ocheho said the ability of the HFN to attract credible partners and reputable entities like Ardova Plc, was down to its track record of efficient management of funds and accountability that are the hallmark of the HFN under his watch.
“My end goal is to work with these partners and nurture the handball leagues in Nigeria to compete favourably with the leagues in top handball playing nations in Africa like, Egypt and Morocco”, he said.
He also explained that the new sponsors are focused just the Premier League which means the sponsorship for the various national teams in African Championships are still up for grabs.
Official draw and fixtures for both the men’s and women’s Ardova Premier Handball Leagues were released on Tuesday, and Mr Ocheho said he is looking forward to seeing younger players at the first phase of the league.
The HFN President also paid glowing tribute to the immediate past sponsors of the premier league, Prudent Energy whose partnership helped in repositioning the league and created job opportunities for handball players in the past five years and some of the players are now playing professional handball, abroad.
