All is now set for the commencement of the Ardova Handball Premier League 2023 phase 2 which will hold in Lagos, starting from Monday.
The second phase of the Ardova Handball Premier League 2023 will see the twenty-two teams (12 male teams, 10 female teams) and officials arrive in Lagos, Monday the 13th of November 2023, ahead of hostilities which will commence on Tuesday, November the 14th 2023 at the indoor sports hall of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos and the outdoor handball court at the Rowe Park Sports Center, Yaba, Lagos.
Coaches of the teams and officials which include but are not limited to referees and members of the technical and organizing committee will hold a technical meeting at the NIS Indoor Sports hall, to avail themselves again of the rules of the league while the matches will commence at exactly 7 am on Tuesday morning at the two centers.
With Niger United and Safety Babes leading the league summit in the men and women categories from phase 1 which was held in Benin City, Edo State, team will be battle ready to get cracking in the two categories with juicy fixtures to wet the appetites of fans.
Starting with the women’s category, third place Rima Queens of Sokoto with 23 points, will continue where they left it in the first phase as they play Bayelsa Queens who are 8th on the log with 13 points while Delta Queens who are 7th on the table with 16 points will play bottom placed Benue Queens on match day 1.
Still, in the women’s category, it’s a battle of 5th versus 6th as home team Seasider Babes of Lagos will face Bendel Dynamos while arguably the big match of the day will see the Abuja derby with Safety Babes, who are defending champion and league leaders face off against city rival and second-placed Defender Babes in what promises to be an interesting match between the duo.
Former Champion Plateau Peacocks who are 4th on the table will play 9th place Imo Grasshoppers.
In the men’s category, 9th placed D.Defenders play 6th placed Confluence Stars while league leaders and former champion Niger United with 30 points will play Correction Boys placed 10th on the table with 16 points.
After an underwhelming first phase which saw them placed 5th on the table with 25 points, defending champion Kano Pillars will want to start the second phase on a different slate as they face 7th placed Rima Strikers while 4th placed Lagos Seasider Boys with 27 points will continue their phase 1 form as they play Benue Buffaloes who are 8th on the table.
Bottom team Bendel Dynamos will play Police Machine while Tojemarine Academy who is second on the table will play second-placed Safety Shooters in the final match of the men’s category on match day 1.
All matches will be streamed live on HFN TV on Facebook and the Handball Federation of Nigeria YouTube page with regular updates on the X and Instagram pages of HFN.
This is the sixth season of the league with a new title sponsor Ardova PLC which will see an increase in preparatory subsidy of 500,000 naira for each of the twenty-two teams (12 male and 10 female teams )as well as the winners getting 2.5 million naira price money.
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