Polo enthusiasts are reeling with joy with the relocation of the foremost Sokoto Polo Club to its permanent ground in the state capital.
Currently, there is a sense of a bygone era about Sokoto and a feeling of stepping into another era. Place as there is an air of a refreshing uniqueness about the city.
Sokoto Polo Captain Faruk Koko said the State Governor, Right Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, has approved a new ground for the club in fulfilment of his promise to resuscitate the ancient game of kings in the state.
Koto said the new abode which is nestling on the outskirts of the ancient city off the Gusau –Sokoto Expressway, is big enough to accommodate two polo fields with enough space for stables, secretariat and other sporting facilities.
He disclosed this at the recently concluded 2022 Lagos International Polo Tournament , saying the entire polo family in Nigeria and the polo playing community in the seat of Caliphate are indeed grateful; to the polo loving governor for his commitment to the promotion of polo and sports generally in the state.
Many polo aficionados who reacted to the warm news, thanks the Sultan of Sokoto, His Royal Highness, Sultan Saa’d Abubakar (111), the Life Chairman of Nigerian Polo, the Emir of Katsina, His Royal Highness, Dr. Abdulmumini Kabir Usman , the Governor and other stakeholders for spearheading the resuscitation of the noble game of polo in the state .
“This year is a particularly very special one for Nigerian polo. Everyone in the Nigerian Polo Federation (NPF) is happy that the Sokoto Polo Club that has been struggling to return to the national fold, has been allocated a new place,” NPF President, Francis Ogboro, declared in his reaction to the development.
The NPF boss who received the Sokoto contingent with warm embrace, thanked the Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Katsina, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal and Sokoto polo family for their passion and commitment in ensuring that polo is alive and well in Sokoto after decades of agonizing wait.
“With Sokoto back in the family and new clubs springing up across the country, we are confident of the future of Nigerian polo and elated that our pledge to take the game to the next level is fast bearing fruits,” Ogboro noted.
The proud history of the world’s oldest team sport that made Sokoto the leading polo playing cities in Africa, was abruptly extinct in the wake of the sudden death of the late Governor Shehu Kangiwa who died while competing for honours in 1981 edition of Kaduna International Tournament.
Since the tragic death of the polo legend while competing for the Georgian Cup, the ancient noble game of aristocrats went into a coma in the Seat of Caliphate. For decades, the once foremost Sokoto polo abode was only a social club with no sporting activities taking place.