Polo bosses warn teams against secret meets
POLO, the sport of royalty and the super-rich, has been accused by its own governing b ody of playing games that could be breaking Covid-19 guidelines and are “putting the whole sport at risk”, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) wrote to its 3,000 members on Wednesday to say that it had learnt of teams on private estates breaking social-distancing measures by playing “chukkas” – seven-and-a-half-minute periods of play – in what is considered a contact sport.
In its letter, the HPA says: “Polo played on private grounds is not within the remit of the HPA unless it brings the game into disrepute.
“It is considered to be very unhelpful that some have been and are playing chukkas and putting the whole sport at risk.”
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, David Wood, the chief executive of the HPA, said he could not identify the teams that had put the sport “at risk” by playing unsanctioned games.
He said: “We just get telephone calls telling us that they have been playing on various grounds – not at any of our clubs. You can do what you like on your own.”
Asked whether teams had broken Government guidelines, he said: “We are not saying that. We are saying that if they have they are putting it at risk but the rumours are that they have been. I don’t know which [teams] they are. We haven’t been told who they are. We have been on lockdown so we haven’t been anywhere.”
The Government has not sanctioned any return to contact in elite sport beyond the socially-distanced “Step One” training of the kind that Premier
League football clubs have begun this week. There is also doubt as to whether polo qualifies as an elite sport under the current Government guidance which refers to “major sports governing bodies”.
Polo at club level is a combination of professional and amateurs and is not an Olympic sport.
On average, two teams have a total of 48 different grooms with direct contact between them and players they assist practically impossible to avoid.
Under the rules of polo it is common to have physical contact known as a “ride-off ” many times over the course of a chukka.
The sport has already been hit by the withdrawal of a number of high-profile teams from its marquee summer competitions but Mr Wood said they would push ahead with plans to stage the Gold Cup next month and the Queen’s Cup in August.
Among those to pull out of the UK competitions is King Power, the team owned by the billionaire Thai family, the Srivaddhanaprabhas, who also own Leicester City Football Club.
Other withdrawals from the Gold Cup include the French team Murus Sanctus, the Us-backed team La Indiana and the Hungarian team Bardon.
Many feel that social distancing is impossible in a sport often bankrolled by wealthy patrons. The favourite venue for the summer matches is the Park Place estate in Berkshire.
The Srivaddhanaprabhas’ King Power teams have reached the last five finals of the Gold Cup – and have won it three times.
The decision to withdraw was made by Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, who now runs the King Power dutyfree empire.
His father Vichai, who was killed in a helicopter crash near his football club’s stadium in October 2018, was a polo enthusiast.
Vichai was the driving force behind the King Power business and financed Leicester City’s rise to win the Premier League in 2016.
Top and his brother Apichet, known as “Tal”, are both keen polo amateurs who play in the King Power teams.
It is understood the Srivaddhanaprabha family do not believe polo should be classified as an elite sport and should not be given an early comeback as lockdown restrictions are eased.
It appears they do not think it has a major impact on the British economy − unlike football.
Leicester City are fully behind the return of the Premier League.
‘It is considered to be very unhelpful that some have been playing and putting the whole sport at risk’