The Nigeria Polo Federation (NPF) will compete in the 4th Moroccan King Mohammad VI International Polo Tournament, which will be held from May 22 to 27 in Rabat and Tangiers, Morocco.
The Moroccan Royal Federation of Polo is in charge of organizing the King Mohammad VI International Polo Tournament.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant, Technical, Joesef Karim, on Thursday in Abuja, Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, the Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), said Nigeria’s participation in the event was confirmed on May 17.
Kangiwa, who is also the current President of NiPF, stated that the tournament included teams from Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Argentina , USA, Spain and Dubai.
According to him, the Nigerian polo team participating in this 4th edition of the Tournament are quite formidable and very experienced.
Members of the Nigeria polo team are my humble self (Kangiwa) , Abdulkarim Jibril, Murtala Ahmad Laushi, Mohammed Abba Kyari, Shehu Sani Kangiwa, Hamisu Buba, Solomon Bassi, Fernando Munoz, Abdulmalik Bariki and Bello Samaila.”
NIHOTOUR boss further said that the tournament remained one of the biggest sporting events that would traditionally turn a serene polo ground into the battlefield of high- end polo.
He added that such would attract international VIPs and celebrities from far and wide.
” Our attendance at this annual tournament will no doubt help to develop and enhance Nigeria’s profile throughout the world.
”Polo was first played in Nigeria in 1904 in Lagos and the governing body of polo in Nigeria was the Nigerian Polo Association (NPA), which was established in 1920.
It was subsequently transformed into the Nigeria Polo Federation (NPF),” he said
The NPF is the official Polo games regulator in Nigeria and is a member of Federation of International Polo, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and International Olympic Committee (IOC), as a whole over the years.
NPF has effectively led the Nigerian polo team to partake in numerous international competitions, including the Federation of International Polo (FIP), World Cup qualifiers in Malaysia.
