Ivorians Target Hand Ball Trophy

The Technical Director, Africa Sport of Cote d’ Ivoire, Paul Blasson, says his country is in Kaduna to win the Africa Handball Club Championship, which kicked off last Thursday.

The event will run from 20th through 30th of this month.

Blasson said in Kaduna at the weekend that the Africa Sports was a good club with talented young players, determined to make a name for themselves and their country.

He described his team as the “dream team of the future’’, saying that it would spring surprises at the tournament.

Blasson, who rated clubs from Algeria, Cameroon and the Congo as “strong teams”, said his team was up to the task and would do well.

“My team is not the best but it is a very good team, that is why we qualified to be here,’’ he boasted.

Tidesports source reports that some of the teams that trained at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Murtala Mohammed Square, Kaduna, last Thursday were Al-Alhly of Egypt, Petro Atletico of Angola and the Flowers of Benin Republic.

Matches are scheduled to be played simultaneously at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium and the Murtala Muhammed Sports Hall, which are equipped with modern facilities approved by the International Handball Federation (IHF).

The tournament is one the highest in the continent.

Nigeria is hosting the event for the second time. The first time was in 1987 in Owerri, Imo.