Indications are strong that President Muhammadu Buhari would grace the finals of the 2022 Abuja Carnival Polo Tournament which galloped off with fanfare on Friday as the Special Guest of Honour.
Polo Royals reliably gathered that the President who would lead a long convoy of dignitaries to the grand finale will be on hand to hand out prizes to winners and the runners-up of the event at the closing ceremony of the carnival event.
Already, a record entry of teams from all the major polo clubs across the country are jostling for top prizes at stake in the weeklong festival that would remain the biggest tourism cum polo event in the years to come.
Polo Royals checks also reveal that over twenty teams participating in the grand carnival event, would be vying for major laurels at stake with the President Cup topping the pack as the event’s biggest prize.
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Other top trophies to be carted home by the winners include the FCT Minister’s Cup, the Legislative Shield, and the crowded Guards Brigade Trophy that pits six equally matched and ambitious teams in a battle royale to decide the winner of the low-goal prize.
Former champions Malcomines team from Jos is billed to take on the home side 60 Yard/AFMAAJ Consulting team in a winners-take –all President Cup match-up that promises to thrill from start to finish.
And one prize that has been the talk within the polo circle since the fixtures was made public is in the FCT Ministers Cup series where old foes, the Nigerian Army team and the Police polo teams are leading a loaded field of eight other teams as they set to rekindle their age-long rivalry in the noble game of kings.
Polo Royals can also report that six ambitious teams dominated by rookies and beginners are in the trenches for the low-goal Guards Challenge Cup race that would wear on till the last games to separate the winners.
The glamorous carnival polo tournament and the prestigious Unity Polo Festival, remain the two biggest sporting events that traditionally turn the serene Guards Polo Ground into a battlefield of high-end polo, with diplomats, international VIPs and celebrities from far and wide bathing in excitement.