Under-24 Male Handball team arrives Bulgaria for IHF Emerging Nations Championship

Nigeria's male handball team are now in Bulgaria ahead of the IHF Emerging Nations Championship.

The IHF Emerging Nations Championship will hold in Vana, Bulgaria from April 25 to 30, 2023 and Nigeria will be playing in group D alongside the host Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.

The team has been training intensively for weeks in Abuja under the watchful eyes of Coach Solomon Yola ahead of the International Handball Federation's organised championship before leaving the shores of the country via the Muritala Muhammed International Airport on Sunday evening.

Nigeria will play her first match in the competition against highly favoured host Bulgaria on Tuesday while they play Azerbaijan on Wednesday. 

All matches will be played at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, Bulgaria which resembles the National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos.

The IHF Emerging Nations Championship is a special IHF project that has been aimed at supporting emerging nations since 2015.

The championship is considered a qualification process for the European Handball Federation and also provides opportunities for countries from other continental confederations to take part.

Therefore, countries that currently participate are those in the “four-year plan” of the European Handball Federation and the best-ranked countries from other continents that did not qualify for the World Men's Handball Championship.