The Nigerian polo fraternity is waiting with bathed breath as the northern leg of the polo tour heads to the ancient Zazzau Kingdom for the forthcoming 2024 Zaria international polo tournament.
As the third tournament in the Savannah tour following the just concluded 2024 Bauchi fiesta and the prestigious Minna polo extravaganza , the 2024 Zaria event is guaranteed to be the most exciting and highly competitive with lots of fun.
Zaria polo Tournament Manager, Abdulkarim Jibril, hinted as much that the Zaria polo would be held this year from the second week of August, shortly after the Bauchi polo festival.
Abdulkarim who is also the Vice President of the Nigerian Polo Federation (NPF), added that the tournament committee is working on all fronts to deliver one of the most exciting and memorable Zaria in years.
“The big news from the Zazzau Kingdom is that the much-anticipated 2024 Zaria polo tournament will certainly be held this year, Insha Allah,” Jibril sad. “Already arrangements are in top year and in the next few days, the management will announce the tournament dates.”
Billed for its traditional Queen Elizabeth Road Polo Ground venue, the week-long event that usually attracts teams from around the country, is a must-attend as most of the big names in Nigerian polo are expected to showcase their skills.
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Zaria polo is all about the Royal Signal Cup, the tournament’s biggest and one of the most-wanted polo prizes in the country. The allure of the title comes from the fact that the winner of this prestigious prize is crowned the ‘King of Zaria Polo’.
Other top prizes to be won during the polo fiesta include the Emir of Zazzau Cup, Jafaru Cup, Governor’s Cup, and University Cup, among others.
A handful of individual awards to be given out to teams and players who distinguished themselves during the glamorous fiesta.
Zaria Polo Captain, Faruk Dokaji said that participants are expected from all the major polo centres across the country. He added polo clubs like Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Jos, Abuja, Yola, Sokoto, and others have indicated interest in sending teams to the grand polo festival.
Murtala Laushi’s Malcomines polo team from Jos, Plateau State are the defending champions of the Zaria polo festival. They defeated their hard-fighting Kano Bichi Farm 5 – 4 in a closely fought final game of the tournament.