Nigeria Throbs with Africa’s First Beach Polo Tournament

Your must read  Globalpolo.blogspot.com team was part of the crowd at the fantastic Event Centre ground of the Eko Atlantic City to witness a piece of polo history being made in Africa.  Nigeria’s biggest city and financial hub, Lagos was at its grandest moment hosting the first ever Beach Polo Tournament in the continent.

The maiden edition of Eko Atlantic City Beach Polo Tournament which ended lasted recently was exciting for both participants and the appreciative audience not only because it was the first of its kind in the country but also because the four-day event featured the best  players and teams drawn from Nigeria and the expatriate communities.

The glamorous tournament will be remembered for thrilling games and the incredible passion of the players and the teeming polo buffs from across the country and beyond, who throng the event in their droves to bath in the excitement of the historic polo extravaganza.

After four days of top class polo, the inaugural event climaxed on high with Lagos Polo and Caverton teams carting home carting home the major titles at stake in what was undoubtedly, the latest introduction and the first ever Beach Polo in the country,  a century and eleven years since the game was  first played in Lagos.

With an equally matched field of six teams vying top honors the inaugural Beach polo festival was destined for a photo finish and the tournament demonstrated the tremendous balance in the game with Lagos Polo team emerging the overall champions, carting home the main title, the glittering Access Bank Cup.

The final stage of Africa’s first ever beach polo tournament came to a flourishing finale with Lagos Polo Club team showcasing a commanding performance that fetched them inaugural beach polo title, the Access Bank Cup.

The winners showed their champions stuff with a close 5-4 defeat of Power Horse team in a tense final, to write their name s in gold as the continent’s first beach polo kings.

Horse Power team looked set to be odds-on favorites for the win after getting off to a fast start, up 1-0 in the first minute of the first chukka of the final.

 Their line-up featuring Musty Fashinro (1), Kwame Isa (1), Seyi Oyinola (-1) kept the spirit with a second by Musty to close the opening chukka two goals up.

Lagos Polo Club team parading Ayo Olasoju (0), Abdulrahaman (1) and Habeeb Fashinro (0), decisively made their intentions known in the second chukka with the first goal coming from Abdulrahaman and by the first bell had drawn level 2-2.

Despite Musty turning up the heat as Horse Power tried, the third chukka had much the same outcome as the second with Seyi scoring for Horse Power and Habeeb striking for Lagos Polo. The fiercely fought chukka ended 3-3.

The deciding moment came in the final chukka. Isa Kwame puts Horse Power in front, before Ayo replied to make it 4-4. With the clock ticking, Lagos Polo wins the line-out and drive towards, with Abdulrahaman scoring the decisive winner, with just seconds left to play.

“It was a fantastic campaign, but in the final game Power Horse wasn’t an easy one. They came out fighting and at a point took over the lead. But we were too determined to just let it slip by and I want to thank my team mates for their concentration and our numerous fans for their unflinching support,” Lagos polo team skipper, Fashinro declared.

“This was an incredibly challenging game and Lagos Polo was a tremendous competitor on the field,” said Musty Fashinro, skipper of the Power Horse side.  It's tough to explain how they sneaked from behind to snatch the title.  It was their day so congrats Lagos Polo,” he added.

“This was an incredible tournament and the latest addition to our proud polo tradition,” said Bode Makanjuola, captain of Veuve Cliquot team that lost the Eko Pearl Cup to Caverton in the subsidiary finals that preceded the grand finale.

“All the participating teams played exceptionally well together today as they did all through the tournament.  While we didn’t win this one I am still very proud of what the team accomplished during this historic event in the African continent, and the sport globally."

The fiercely fought final was watched by a discerning crowd that included the Oba of Lagos, His Majesty Rilwan Akiolu, the first Military Governor of Lagos State, Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson, members of the National Assembly captains of industries and diplomats.

Former Minister of Defense, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma who was the Special Guest of Honour at the final and his wife, Senator Daisy decorated Abdulrahaman who was named the Most Valuable Player of final.

Baba Dangote who pivoted Caverton team to victory in the subsidiary finals was named the Most Valuable Player in the Eko Pearl Cup series.

Although Beach Polo only emerged as recent as 2004, after it was created and debuted in Dubai, UAE, and the noble game of polo has been played in Nigeria for over a century, with Lagos being its birth place way back in 1904.