Title holders, Jos Malcomines and last year’s finalist, Bauchi Djokai would be leading all visiting teams to the highly anticipated 2024 Bauchi Polo Tournament billed to gallop on Monday, July 22 at the foremost Col. A.D Umar Polo Ground in the state’s capital city.
Traditionally billed for the last weekend of June, the grandiose fiesta was shifted to allow visiting teams and ponies to acclimatize and for the organizers to perfect preparations for the fiesta that has over the decades been the biggest sporting cum tourism attraction to the state.
Murtala Laushi -powered Jos Malcomines have successfully defended their Bauchi title four times and are bracing to extend their supremacy against arch rivals from Kaduna, Kano, Yola and home crowd favourites, Bauchi teams in what promises to be one of the most competitive Bauchi battle royale’ in years.
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Reputed as one of the biggest polo tournaments in the country, the prestigious festival is spread over a week of octane showpiece and top class entertainment, with four major prizes and a handful of subsidiary prizes up for grabs by the winners.
Major titles at stake include the Governor’s Cup which is the event’s biggest reward and the Emir of Bauchi Cup. Other major prizes include the Emir of Katagum Cup and the low-goal Sarki Fulani Cup.
Checks revealed that the glittering subsidiary prizes like the Tafawa Balewa Cup, played in the everlasting memory of Nigeria’s Prime Minister, the Beginners Cup and the Veterans Cup would be carted home by lucky winners during the glamorous festival in the home of the foremost Yankari Games Reserve.
The event’s biggest prize, the highly revered Governor Cup and will take the center stage with highly fortified teams from Jos, Kaduna, and possibly Bauchi Dokaji are expected to jostle for the top prize.
“It’s going to be a weeklong thrilling polo experience for our esteemed sponsors, partners and lovers of the noble game.” Bauchi Polo Secretary, Haruna Ningi disclosed in an exclusive chat with The Nationsports Special ahead of the tournament.
He also disclosed that established Nigerian polo patrons, top Nigerian professional players and their counterparts from Argentina and Europe are billed to display their awesome skills during the weeklong polo fiesta that has annually attracted the biggest crowd to the ancient Hausa Kingdom for decades still counting.
Nestling off the popular Kano- Ningi Road in the State Capital, the serene Bauchi Polo Club was established in the late 1970s by polo enthusiasts and lovers of the noble game of kings led by Col Umar when he served at the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC).
Two years ago after six days of unforgettable top flight polo actions witnessed by a record crowd of royalties, top government officials, business gurus, diplomats and thousands of enthusiasts, it was the home teams, Bauchi Dokaji , Bauchi Percentage, and debuting Bauchi Voladora that put host firmly in charge, winning three of the four major prizes on offer.
The Governor Cup final this year, pitching title holders, Jos Malcomines and Bauchi Dokaji, was a tough duel that went straight down to the wire after a 4-4 score line after two epic games. The resultant toss of coins that gave Dokaji their first ever Governor’s Cup title.
Both Bauchi Percentage and debuting Bauchi Voladora teams won the Emir of Bauchi Cup and Tafewa Balewa Cup respectively in impressive campaigns by home teams that set up unprecedented celebrations across the state.
Also, the Abuja-based Bauchi Valodora defeated Tila Farms opponents from Kaduna to clinch the coveted Emir of Bauchi Cup on first attempt, just as Bauchi Percentage edged local rivals in a closed finale to earn their first Tafewa Balewa Cup title.
Emotions flowed freely through the crowd on the final day, as the grandson of the late Prime Minister of Nigeria; Aslem Balewa led his Bauchi Percentage team to clinch the title played in the everlasting memory of his late grandfather.