By Our Correspondent

Nigeria’s U-18 and U-20 male handball teams have qualified for the finals of the International Handball Federation, IHF Trophy Tournament for Africa Zone 3 after winning their semi final matches on Friday in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The U-18 Male team tutored by Coach Emeka Nnamani celebrated joyously after they defeated Niger Republic 29-24 in what was a cagey match, to qualify for the final

Their elder brothers, the U-20 team led by Coach Fidelis Obi then capped it up as they comfortably defeated Burkina Faso 39-26 in their semi-final to guarantee their place into the final.

The Nigeria teams will meet host Ivory Coast in the two categories as the U-18 team of Ivory Coast defeated Benin Republic 34 – 26 while the U-20 team defeated Niger Republic 34-28 and what will be juicy final to behold.

The winners in both categories will participate in the continental phase of the IHF Trophy Tournament for Africa which will hold in Brazzaville, Congo from December 12 to 18, 2022.

Seven youth (U-18) and eight junior (U-20) national teams from the western part of Africa took part in the Men’s IHF Trophy Africa – Zone III, which takes place between 22 and 26 November 2022 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The teams from Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Niger and Togo will fight for the trophy in the youth age category, and the same nations plus Burkina Faso will compete in the junior event. Both competitions will also serve as qualification tournaments for the continental phase of the Men’s IHF Trophy, which is scheduled for December 2022.

The final and third-place encounters at both events will take place on Saturday 26 November.