Commonwealth Handball Tournament Postponed To 2012

The 2nd ECOWAS Senior Men’s Handball Championship earlier scheduled to hold in Abuja from November 23 to November 27 has been postponed.

The decision to postpone the championship was made known in a letter sent to the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), signed by Garba Attahiru , Executive Director, Commonwealth Handball Association (CHA).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the postponement was agreed on to honour the late Vice- President of CHA, Moudime Jules, who died in Kaduna during the 33rd Africa clubs handball championships in October.

The CHA would now hold from March 7 to March 11 next year in Abuja, Nigeria.

The letter also said that the CHA was still committed to providing free accommodation, local transport in Abuja for teams coming for the championship.

It also urged invited countries to re-confirm their participation in the championship on or before December 31.

Meanwhile, Sola Luke, secretary of the HFN, told NAN that the federation was taken aback by the content of the letter because of the advanced state of its preparations for the championship.

“The players we had invited for the competition have been training seriously with the earlier date in mind,” he said.

The secretary added that the postponement would afford the HFN more time to prepare for the championship in 2012.

He urged the national team not to relent in their training as the federation might infuse the team with new players that would be discovered at the Kano Open Championships in December.