EL-Amin Sets All-time Georgian Cup Record

Saturday November 16, 2013, served up a historic treat for African and Nigerian sports, as the attention of the world zoomed in on the port city of Calabar and the cosmopolitan city of Kaduna for a weekend of sporting history.

While Super Eagles secured a fifth World Cup finals ticket for Nigeria against the desperate Ethiopians in Calabar, up north, Nigeria’s all times polo champions, EL-Amin raised the bar once again, with their tenth Georgian Cup title in Kaduna.

The high profile Kaduna’2003 international polo tournament that attracted a record forty teams, lived up to its highly revered tradition of cutting edge competition, high-scoring matches, fantastic goals and an outpouring of emotion.

Expectedly, there was a healthy dose of excitement and drama, and the usual stirring images of beaming winners and inconsolable losers, as Kaduna rock with Mohammed Babangida and his EL-Amin setting an all time record that would be difficult to break in the rich history of Nigerian polo that spans over a century.

A memorable day opened with Abuja Trademark out pacing home Boys, Kaduna DeeBee Farms to win the overcrowded EL-Amin Cup, while Kaduna Makblow succumb to the fire power of  Katsina Kangiwa in the final of the NAHCO Cup.

 Kaduna Sublime crowned their maiden appearance at the prestigious Kaduna polo festival with a thumping victory against DeeBee Farms and deservedly won a fast-paced and high-scoring match final against Abuja Rubicon (2) to clinch the Emir of Katsina Cup.

The Georgian Cup final was another premium-quality affair in a worthy and pulsating setting. Babangida’s EL-Amin snuffed out Senator Hadi Sirika Rubicon’s dreams of defending the title and comfortably sealed a record tenth triumph of the Africa’s most wanted polo prize.

Roared on by their boisterous supporters and inspired by play-maker Santiago Senardas, EL-Amin imposed their class for an ultimately merited victory that was decided over two days of tense final.

After giving out a whopping four handicap goals to a highly charged Abuja Rubicon fortified with a crake Argentine professional, Juan Jose Brane ,  EL-Amin drilled out a commanding performance  scoring seven goals against Rubicon’s three, to bring the scores to 8-7 in the fourth chukka.

 The tense encounter that saw Rubicon’s lead vanished to a solitary goal, was brought to an abrupt end when Rubicon’s Idris Badamasi  fall off his pony fourteen second into the fifth chukka.

And after 14 absorbing minutes of the two chukkas that was left to play, it was the Kaduna based polo kings who were left celebrating. EL-Amin did not only cancel the one goal deficit, they fired home two un-replied goals to win 10-8.

The Nigerian Team of the Decade award winners, were again indebted to Bello Buba,  Ibrahim Mohammed Santi Sernadas and their patron, Mohammed Babangida who fought jointly to sealed El-Amin’s podium finish.

In a Georgian Cup campaign that would go down as the most fierce in the last six years, EL-Amin gave out a whopping eight goals and scored a total of 22 goals, 12 against Keffi Pony in the opening game and 10 against defending champions, Rubicon in the final.

With the Georgian crown secured, EL-Amin went on to add the Argentine Ambassador’s Cup and the Sardauna Cup in a Triple Crown command performance that left everyone in awe.

While Chief predator, Bello Buba became the first Nigerian player to win the 400 years Georgian title 14 times, Babangida who has won the Georgian title eleven times, harvested a bagful of honours. He won four glittering titles, the Emir of Katsina with Kaduna Sublime, Argentine Ambassador Cup, Sardauna Cup and the ultimate Georgian crown.

“I dedicate this victory to my dad who has been the inspiration of the pillar of the team since inception since 1985. We thank the Almighty Allah for his mercies and out teeming fans for their support,” declared Mohammed Babangida.

The Captain of the Nigerian National polo team, who picked his maiden Georgian Cup victory in 1999 as the most memorable and the 2013 as the toughest campaign,”

Inaugurated way back in1919, the grand polo festival which celebrated its 96th edition with pomp, was witnessed by high profile dignitaries led by the Patron of the Kaduna polo Club and Kaduna State Governor, Ramalan Yero who represented President Goodluck Jonathan as the Special Guest of Honour.

 Other top dignitaries who were part of the glamorous fiesta include the Governor of Zamfara State, Emirs of Katsina, HRH Alhaji Abdulmumuni Kabir Usman, Emir of Jumare, Emir of Gombe, the President Nigerian Polo Federation, Francis Ogboro, diplomats and captains of industries across the country and beyond.