Handball: Nigeria U-18 Team Lands Algeria For Tourney

Nigeria’s U-18 women’s handball team will be departs the country yesterday , ahead of the 2025 African Women’s Youth Handball Championship, which will take place in Oran, Algeria, from September 14 to 21, Tidesports source reports.

The team, which had been preparing for the biennial competition at the Rowe Park Sports Centre in Yaba, Lagos, will be led by head coach John Uzor as they look to finish on the podium as well as pick up a ticket to the World Championships for next year.

Coach Uzor had earlier expressed optimism on his team’s chances at the continental tournament during an interview with our correspondent, “The previous set went for the same tournament two years ago and they came out third. So you know much is expected of us. At least surpass them or maintain the standard. And this time around, we have more countries coming. So we are doing everything possible to imbibe and inculcate some things into the team so that we can achieve better than what they did before.”

“I know that we will be favoured. Five teams to qualify, we will surely qualify. At least, even if we do not finish on the podium, we are eyeing at least a spot at the World Cup. Yes, that is what we are saying. We know we’ll finish at the podium, all things being equal. But we’ll qualify for the World Cup. That’s the most important thing,” he added.

A total of 11 countries will be competing for honours at the U-18 handball tournament, which will be played at two venues in the city of Oran, namely, the Miloud Hadefi Complex Arena, which boasts a capacity of 7,000 and the 5,000-seater Hamou Boutlelis Sports Palace.

Nigeria will slug it out with Angola, Tunisia, Kenya, Benin Republic and Madagascar in Group A, while hosts Algeria will tackle defending champions Egypt, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Zambia in Group B.

Nigeria finished on the podium at the 2023 edition, held in Monastir, Tunisia, after defeating three-time champions Angola 28-24 in the bronze medal fixture.

The 2025 edition of the tournament will serve as qualifiers for the 2026 Women’s Youth World Handball Championship, as well as the IHF Women’s Intercontinental Phase.