Qatar Olympic, Sports Museums induct Access Bank ambassador

Neku Atawodi-Edun, Nigerian polo player and Access Bank polo team captain/ambassador has been inducted into the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, one of the largest sports museums in the world.

The induction is in recognition of her achievements and contribution to the game of polo.

The museum located in Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, one of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums, features a display section of some of Atawodi-Edun match-worn items, including her Access Bank branded shirt worn in Argentine Polo Open 2019 as the first black person ever to play in the tournament.

Atawodi-Edun was born in 1987 in Benue and raised partly in Kaduna. She attended university in England, earning a BSc in Equestrian Science at the University of Brighton. She is the first black woman to play polo professionally with career achievements both in the game of polo and as a technology-for-impact investor. She is one of the few African athletes to be inducted into the museum.

Announced as an Access Bank ambassador in 2019, the partnership included Access Bank’s naming rights to Atawodi-Edun polo team that played in the Argentine Polo Open in 2019.

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Abiodun Olubitan, head, women banking at Access Bank, described Atawodi-Edun as more than an athlete but a valuable brand with impactful achievements whose induction into the museum is inspiring.

Speaking on her induction and display section at the museum, Atawodi-Edun says she is excited to not only be recognized as one of 90 athletes from around the world including Muhammed Ali, Lionel Messi, and Pele but also to have her items displayed proudly, each with a story of her hard work, determination, sacrifice in her journey to becoming a successful polo player. She also sees this as a platform to promote women’s polo in Africa.

Atawodi-Edun is the founder of Ride to Shine, a non-profit organisation where she teaches young vulnerable African children the game of polo and provides them with the opportunity to get an education.