The Art Hotel polo team is the side every other team is trying to avoid at the ongoing Lagos International Polo Tournament, Captain of the team, Mohammed Sani Dangote, has said.
 
Exuding confidence in the team’s ability to dominate the Chapel Hill Denham Open Cup, the leading hospitality industry powerhouse renewed its commitment to the promotion of tourism and lifestyle with the sponsorship of a team in the polo tournament.
 
Speaking during the presentation of the team to the media in Victoria Island, Sani Dangote described the relationship between Art Hotel and the Lagos Polo Club as a partnership where art, hospitality and sport come together to create unforgettable experiences.
 
The team, loaded with established Nigerian stars like Mohammed Sani Dangote, Folarin Kuku, Ahmed Baba Dantata and fortified with two Argentine professionals, Fernandez Segundo and Bautista Panelo, are set for polo battles against three archrivals in the Open Cup face-off.
 
But not worried by the calibre of opposition, Sani Dangote said: “We have battle-tested players in our team. You can take it to the bank that we are going to fight to the finish. We have serial winners in this team who are ready to dominate the Open Cup.
 
“We have been this team in the last four years, and now is the time for us to show the stuff we are made of.”  
 
Dangote, who doubles as the Captain of Lagos Polo Club, said that the team’s chemistry, the well-worked-out game strategies, massive motivation, and their teeming supporters would be the biggest assets in the campaign for the Chapel Hill Denham Cup victory this year.
 
“It’s not going to be an easy ride, but we are ready to go all the way to victory. We are lucky to have the mount and the players who have the required exposure and experience to clinch the Open Cup this year,” declared the polo patron, who won four major cups with his MSD Baby-bear team last year.
 
Speaking on their partnership with the polo team, Art Hotel’s Chairman, Habib Oniru, pointed out that the sponsorship is driven by a desire to integrate the “art” of polo with the hotel’s vision of culture and lifestyle, promising continued support for the sport.
 
Oniru, who expressed optimism that the team is well motivated to surpass their successes in previous outings, added that the Art Hotel – Lagos Polo Club partnership has been an added value to the promotion of the noble game and the hospitality industry.
  
“It’s our privilege and honour to sponsor the Lagos Art Hotel polo team to one of the most prestigious and richest polo tournaments in Africa, and we look forward to a great competition,” he declared.
 
“At the Art Hotel, we believe that an active participation in our community is vital, and as such, we are delighted to have the opportunity again to sponsor the Art Hotel Polo team to the Lagos International Polo Tournament.”