The ongoing 2019 First Bank Georgian Cup Centenary Polo Tournament that has been spreading excitements across the country and beyond picked up steams Monday with Rubicon, Almat and Kaduna Profile teams winning their opening games.
2018 runners-up winner, step up their campaign for a third First Bank Georgian Cup glory with 11-9 defeat of the defending champions in an epic battles watched by a capacity crowd that included the Life Chairman of Nigerian polo and Emir of Katsina, His Royal Highness Alhaji Dr., Abdulmumuni Kabir Usman.
Made from the vintage Georgian Silver, the Georgian Trophy was donated to the Nigerian Polo Association in 1919 by the then British Bank for West Africa now First Bank Plc. and it has since been competed for annually by Nigerian high-goal teams for a century now.
This year, the campaigns for the king of Kaduna polo is waxing an added allures as the high profile First Bank powered polo extravaganza celebrate the centenary of the 400 years-old Georgian Cup that remains the event’s as its biggest prize.
First Bank Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney stated that enduring partnership with Kaduna polo, is in furtherance of the bank’s commitment to the growth and development of sports, nation building and the economy at large.
Ani Mumuney, who confirmed the sponsorship of the Georgian Cup of the Kaduna polo tournament for the 100th consecutive year, reaffirms First Bank’s commitment to using this platform to continually impact the society, noting that the unnerving is possibly the longest running sports sponsorship in the world and a Guinness Book of Records potential.
President, Kaduna Polo Club, Suleman Abubakar lauded First Bank on the Georgian Cup Centenary celebration. “We are honoured to record such a milestone with First Bank since the inception of the tournament 100 years ago,” he declares.
The Georgian Cup Polo Tournament is indeed the Premier Polo Tournament in the country and it has proudly birthed many other sporting events across the country as well as the West African sub region as a whole.
Earlier, former champions, Kaduna Imani were edged out by debutants, Lagos Lintex in their opening game, a result that underlines the cutting edge competition that would crown the proud champion this weekend in Kaduna.
Almat that won the event’s second biggest prize took off from where they left, with a 41/2-6 win over Abuja Rubicon, to send a strong warning about their quest to retain their coveted Emir of Katsina Cup title.
Kaduna Profile also started with a spark hitting YY Kangimi 7-5 at the legendary Murtala Square venue of the prestigious centenary celebration, to keep pace with the international fiesta that attracted a record forty teams this year.
Other top winners of the First Bank Georgian Cup Centenary polo tournament include Kaduna Trappco, Yola AA &R Investment team, Bauchi Kari and the Nigerian Immigration polo team who are upbeat in their race to win their first EL-Amin Cup title.
Revered as the biggest and the glamorous polo tournament in Africa, the 2019 First Bank Georgian Cup polo tournament parades the best of Nigerian polo patrons, top rated players and foreign professionals from Europe, South Africa and Argentina.
Anthony Nlebem
