The first-ever U17 North East Zonal Female Volleyball Championship will be hosted in Taraba State from 26 to 27 September 2019.

The tournament is being organised under the aegis of the North East zonal office of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) and is aimed at unearthing promising talents in the North Eastern part of the country.

President of Nigeria Volley Ball Federation (NVBF) Musa Nimrod commended the Ministry’s initiative which he said will act as a nursery for identifying and grooming raw talents in Nigeria.

“I am very excited because the Federal Ministry of Sports in the North East has decided to host the first-ever under 17 North East Zonal Female Volleyball Championship in that zone,” Nimrod said.

“This is to say that the North East is not left out in the crusade of discovering athletes under the age of 17. The female U17 championship will be a nursery to discover and cultivate raw volleyball talents in Nigeria

“We are also trying to build a system whereby, getting into the national U17 team, you have to go through a pathway; you do not go through a short cut.”

Nimrod also revealed the NVBF’s plan to replicate the initiative across other zones in the country so as to avail many more talented players the opportunity and platform to showcase their prowess.

“There are so many female volleyball players in the country that do not have the means to be in Kaduna, Abuja or Lagos; yet they are very good,” Nimrod said.

“But they can play in their states and in their zones and if they are discovered to be very good, then the Federation can also give them a chance through partnering with the Zonal coordinators of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports.”