40 teams show up for 2017 Kaduna International Polo fiesta
EL-Amin prefers centenary edition
With perpetual Georgian Cup champions, EL-Amin sitting out the 99th edition of the oldest running polo tournament in Africa, the Kaduna event is guaranteed to produce a brand new champion this year as a record forty teams confirmed participation.
EL-Amin holds the all time winning record with 14 Georgian Cup title under their belt and their absence this year has handed the desperate Abuja Rubicon who has been playing second fiddle for over a decade now, the golden chance to win their second title since 2012.
While their eventual opponents are still putting finishing touches to their team make up, bookmakers are putting all their money on the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and his star studded Rubicon , to rule Kaduna this year.
Reasons for the decision by Mohammed Babangida and his Georgian Cup kings to watch from the side line are many and varied. But an insider told us that the defending champions took the decision because there is nothing to prove after their decade long dominance.
“We have won everything and set an intimidating record that would be difficult to match in the next 20 years, so we are champions forever,” he boasted.
Besides, he disclosed that EL-Amin would prefer to play next year when the centenary of Georgian diadem, the oldest polo cup in the world would be celebrated. “The centenary title will make more sense for us. “Or don’t you think so?” he enthused with a smile.
Away from the Georgian Cup, Kaduna Polo Captain, Mohammed Baba Kyari disclosed that as at Wednesday morning, about forty teams from all the major polo clubs across the country, have confirmed their readiness to vie for honours in the glamorous polo festival.
Kyari stated that two teams are likely to contest for the Georgian in the absence of the title holders, while three teams are already on ground for the event’s second biggest prize, the Emir of Katsina Cup.
The battle for the NAHCO Cup that got underway as the international polo grand slam galloped off yesterday (Saturday) pitches a record fourteen teams, while the traditionally crowded EL-Amin Cup parades 19 equally-matched teams this year.
President Kaduna Polo Club, Suleiman Abubakar who is listed for action during the fiesta, assured that polo buffs who would be part of the event, are in for one of the most exciting time in Kaduna as everything have been perfected for what would be one of the most memorable polo extravaganzas in Kaduna in the last decade.
“As the premier polo tournament in the country, we are ensuring that our sponsors, partners, guests, players and thousands of polo enthusiasts have the best of times this year,” Tournament Manager Honourable Ibrahim Kontagora added.
Four major prizes, Georgian, Emir of Katsina Cup, NAHCO, ELAmin cups and over ten subsidiary prizes would be contested for in the eight days polo grand slam staged at the legendary Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna.