The 2019 NPA Lagos Polo International Tournament will gallop off on March 13 at the Lagos Polo Club, Ikoyi with 33 teams vying for honours in four major cups categories, the organisers of the event have said.
The participating teams include 12 Silver Cup teams, 14 for Lagos Low Cup, five medium-goal teams for Lagos Open Cup, and two heavyweight teams for the biggest prize, the Majekodunmi Cup.
Tournament Manager, Seyi Oyinlola, promised that this year’s event would be better, adding that “it’s going to be two weeks of thrilling polo experience for the lovers of the game.”
Oyinlola, who commended GTBank, the main sponsors of the event, stated that having gained reputation as the biggest polo tournament in West Africa, the Lagos Polo Club look forward to delivering great values for the sponsors with the coming on board of Coca-Cola and Shell, which joined BUA, WAPIC Insurance and others in sponsoring the glamorous fiesta.
GTBank Manager, Corporate Communications and External Affairs, Jide Sipe, pledged the bank’s commitment to the development of polo in Nigeria.
“Our commitment to this tournament remains strong and we are absolutely passionate about the tournament. Polo is a game that reflects all the attitudes that make human life successful with the exhibition of character, determination, discipline. In fact, this polo event has been one of the major highlights in our calendar at GTBank,” he stated.
Lagos Polo Club president, Ade Laoye, said the host club is rejuvenated with the continuous infrastructural upgrade, stressing that the stables were removed for safety of players and horses to go with international standard.
Lagos Polo Club acting captain, Rotimi Makanjuela, disclosed that nine professional players from Argentina, United Kingdom, South Africa, and professional umpires would feature in the tournament.
The first week will see Lagos based teams and visiting teams from Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan and Port Harcourt vying for laurels in the Silver and Open Cups respectively.
