The 2024 edition of the Katsina International Polo Tournament will be the best organized as it will feature new trophies, more teams as  the rich cultural heritage of northern Nigeria and ancient Katsina Kingdom would come to the fore again.

President of the club, Alhaji Sanusi Kabir Usman  pointed out the event that holding between  August 24 and August 31 will present the Katsina Polo Club the perfect opportunity to celebrate the hundred years of competition of its biggest prize with  the Nigerian Cup and the prestigious Katsina polo Tournament that was inaugurated in the early 1920s.

The polo boss who has played and won many polo titles in Katsina and across the country, said Katsina Polo Club has put lots of preparation into ensuring that the 2024 Centenary polo fiesta is unique in the history of the club.

He added that the foremost Sir Usman Nagogo Polo Ground, the traditional venue of the festival, will be agog with the best of polo and cultural displays throughout the duration of the tournament.

He said:  “It’s a new beginning for the club, it’s a new leadership and we have been working, renovating the pitch and putting the facilities in the best shape. We want to host a unique tournament to celebrate our 100 years of hosting the Game of Kings, we want to bring back the glory days of the premier club, Katsina Polo Club and the most prestigious trophies in Africa, the Nigerian Cup.

 “We want to host an exciting and memorable tournament that everyone will want to play and witness. We want to thank our sponsors and partners for their support over the years.  “We are expecting all the traditional teams from across the country and there would be new trophies for selected teams apart from the four traditional cups and individual awards.”

It may be hard to believe that Katsina, revered as  ‘the Home of Nigerian Polo’,  earned reference because of its pivotal role in the promotion of the noble this unique sport reputed as tenable game across the country and has remained the true custodian of the values of the oldest team sport in Nigeria.

Available facts  have shown  that polo was introduced in Nigerian as early as 1904. Since then, the equestrian game has witnessed tremendous growth, with polo being played in virtually every state of the country.

Four years after the amalgamation of the south and the north, the game spread to the northern part of the country, where it was received with great enthusiasm by the people and polo in Nigeria never looked back.

With the encouragement of the late Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko whose keen interest and promotion led to the formation of polo clubs in Katsina, Zaria, Kaduna and Kano.

By 1922, Katsina had become a major polo centre in the north.  Alhaji Usman Nagogo who succeeded his father Alhaji Dikko as the Emir, with his brothers emerging the first set of handicapped Nigerian polo players.

The first head of the then Nigerian polo ruling body, was Sir Usman Nagogo whose extensive travels gave the Nigerian polo international recognition. While the game was growing in leaps and bounds in the north, polo was equally flourishing in the south with Lagos hosting international tournaments that attracted players from within and outside the country.

History has it that by far, the most important singular effort in upholding the sport of polo in Nigeria belongs to the late General Hassan Usman Katsina, a prince from the Katsina royal family whose untiring effort sustained the sport and gave it direction.

Polo was introduced in Ibadan, the heartland of western Nigerian in the 1930s, while the game is also popular in Port Harcourt, with its polo turf being touted as the best in Nigeria. At the last count, there are over twenty functional polo clubs and private polo farms across the country, spread across Nigeria.

The Late Hassan Usman Katsina who was the Life Chairman of Nigerian polo sat on the Federation of International Polo (FIP) executive board as the sole representative of Zone D, which includes Asia and Australia.

To underscore the pivotal role of the Home of Nigerian Polo, the current Life Chairman of Nigerian polo is his nephew and the Emir of Katsina, HRH (Dr.) Abdulmumuni Kabir Usman.

Culled from TheNation