The president of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) Mr. Samuel Ocheho has expressed shock over the death of former referee late Major Yakubu Uduanokhai (rtd)
The late Major Uduanokhai, who died in Jos on Thursday after a brief illness, was one of the first handball referees in Nigeria when the sport was introduced to the country in 1972 and Mr Ocheho said he is sad as the Nigeria Handball Family has lost another elder statesman who contributed to the growth of the sport.
“This is a huge shock and I cannot begin to quantify the importance of Major Uduanokhai in the development of handball in Nigeria”. Ocheho said.
“He was one of the first referees for handball when we started in 1972 and was involved in the continued growth of our sport as he became trainer of trainers of referees.
“An experience umpire, he officiated in several championships organized by the world handball body IHF, CAHB and championships organized by HFN.
“He’s a big loss to the board of the HFN and the Nigeria Handball Family for his contribution to the growth of handball.” Ocheho concluded.
The late Major Uduanokhai was highly rated because he trained pretty much all retired and active handball referees in the country.
A top rated referee who officiated in big championships organised by the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the Confederation of Africa Handball (CAHB), the late Major Uduanokhai also served as a member of the CAHB Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC ) and as match delegate/CAHB Instructor/lecturer for many years before retiring on age ground.
He is the founding father of HFN’s Playing Rules and Referees Commission (PRC) and served as the first Chief referee of handball in Nigeria.
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