With the 2023 General Elections out of the way, the national polo season is bracing to resume its road tour as preparations get underway for two box office international polo extravaganzas in Oyo State and Kaduna State respectively.
On resumption, Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State will take the first slot as polo clubs across the country are perfecting strategies ahead of the annual Ibadan Polo Festival.
President of Ibadan Polo Club, Koyinsola Owoeye confirmed, stating that the polo fiesta revered for its exciting atmosphere and relaxed setting, would gallop off in May after the Ramadan.
Owoeye also disclosed that arrangements are in top gear to ensure that the event remains an epoch that will linger for long in the memories of all participants as well as invited guests and enthusiasts of the king of games.
“All the organizing committees are on ground and working around the cloak to deliver on all fronts the required values to our esteemed traditional sponsors, partners, patrons, participating teams and thousands of enthusiasts who have over the decades made the Ibadan tournament a festival of choice,” Owoeye assured.
According to the Ibadan polo buff, over twenty teams coming from Kano, Kaduna, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Jos, and Lagos are expected to participate in the annual festival as the best players and patrons in the country set their sights on Ibadan in May.
Owoeye who led Ibadan quest for two of the biggest prizes at the recently concluded Lagos international tourney, said other major prizes at stake would include the Ibadan Cup presented in the early 1930s by Colonel R. Petit of the 9th Lancer of the then British colonial masters.
Others are the Rotimi Cup, Ade Alakija Cup played in memory of the former Ibadan Polo Captain, and The GOC Cup as well as a handful selected prizes and awards.
“The Ibadan polo tournament has over the years set a unique example as one of the most exciting polo events in the country and we are putting together a package that would make the tournament the most exciting in years,” he added.
From the foremost Eleyele rolling fields in the ancient Oyo Kingdom, the national polo tour will move up north with the cosmopolitan city of Kaduna playing host to the 2023 edition of Africa’s premium Fund raising polo tournament.
Elsewhere, the Access Bank-UNICEF Charity polo tournament that is reputed as the biggest charity polo event in Africa will gallops-off at the magnificent lawns of Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Resort in Kaduna in June..
Organisers said in a release that the UNICEF event will be decided in two stages, with teams battling for the Usman Dantata Cup and the events’ second most wanted prize, The Access Bank Cup in the first stage, while the Charity Shield takes center stage in the concluding stages.
Inaugurated in 2003, the Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield polo which was inaugurated in South Africa last year has raised the much needed funds for UNICEF in support of projects aimed at alleviating the plights of the underprivileged children in Kaduna State and its environs.
Further checks also revealed that from the Charity Shield, the Calvary will move to the neighbouring university town of Zaria as there are strong indications that Zaria Polo Club is planning to host its annual tournament this year after years in doldrums.
Initially billed for the Easter holidays but pushed forward by weeks, the Zaria 2023 carnival would provide a convivial ambiance for the polo fraternity to celebrate the noble game of kings in the foremost Zazzau kingdom.