Handball tourney: Abuja set to welcome Commonwealth nations

As the official countdown of the second edition of the Commonwealth ECOWAS Handball Championship scheduled to take place in Abuja April 4 to 8, 2012 started over the weekend,  the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Micah Jiba, has pledged total support of his council to make sure that championship becomes a success.
Mica made this statement when the management of Commonwealth Handball Association led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Attahiru Garba, paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

He recalled that he felt honoured when the hosting right was given to Abuja after a fierce battle against other bidders, adding that no stone will be left unturned in their bid to make the bid a memorable one.
He said: “We will help in mobilising school children to fill up the stadium because I strongly believe that they are the future of this country and if they are well managed and a career created for them in the area of sports, it will help to sway the minds off social vices.
“We hope to still host such championship when call upon to do so because it is a very good avenue to not only project the good image of Abuja to the rest of the country. We promise not to fail.”
Garba reminded the AMAC boss that Abuja is privileged to host the international headquarters of the Commonwealth Handball Association, adding that it is the only Commonwealth Games’ office outside London.
He stated that the choice of Nigeria for the championship was a painstaking one, taking into consideration that Nigeria bidded for the championship with other nations that also have the capability to host.
Meanwhile, all the countries invited for the championship have confirmed their participation.
A check with the secretariat of the association in Abuja shows that Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana and Cameroun have all officially confirmed their participation while Togo and Gambia have been placed on reserve list.
According to the programme made available to the media, teams will arrive on April 4 while the final match will be played on April 7.
The Vice President, Arc. Namadi Sambo, is expected to be the special guest at the closing ceremony.
The first edition of this championship was hosted in Kaduna, Nigeria in 2008 with Nigeria defeating Cameroun in the final match.