Head coach of Nigeria’s Under-18 women’s handball team, Shittu Agboola has called on the sports ministry to support the team as they prepare for the Women’s Under-18 Handball Championship,
The 10th edition of the championship is scheduled to hold from August 14 to 25 in Chuzhou, China.
Nigeria have been paired in Group B alongside European giants Croatia, Montenegro and African side Angola, who lost to Nigeria in the third-place match of the 2023 Africa Under-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 2023/2024, can qualify from the group but used the opportunity to call on the ministry to support the team.
The team qualified for the World Championship for the first time in their history after defeating Morocco in the quarter-finals of the Africa Under-18 Women’s Handball Championship last year.
They lost to Egypt in the semi-finals but went on to finish third after defeating Angola.
The team comfortably dominated the IHF Women’s Trophy in the Africa Zone 3 phase and continental phase in Ghana and Congo Brazzaville before losing to Kosovo in the final of the International Handball Federation Women’s Trophy Intercontinental Phase in Uzbekistan to finish second in the global championship.