The Lagos Polo Club has declared that everything needed to make the Lagos International Polo Tournament successful has been put in place ahead of the January 27 kickoff of the event.

According to organisers of the event, over 25 teams are set to jostle for top honours in different categories of the event.  Speaking while unveiling the tournament’s programme on Tuesday, the President of Lagos Polo Club, Adeyemo Alakija, said the competition, regarded as one of the biggest polo events in the world, would span three weeks of high-octane polo games and climax with fanfare on February 15 at the famous Ribadu Polo Ground in Ikoyi, Lagos.

He commended the main sponsor of the event, GTCO, other sponsors and partners for their support of the event, which dates back to 1904, ensuring it gained a reputation as one of the biggest polo tournaments in Africa. He said that the Lagos Polo Club look forward to delivering great values for the sponsors and participants during the epoch fiesta.

Alakija said that the club is rejuvenated with continuous infrastructural upgrade, stressing that the entire club has been primed for the safety of players and horses to meet international standards.

“The ambitious teams fully armed with foreign professionals and fortified with thoroughbred Argentine horses would be competing for four major prizes and a handful of subsidiary laurels,” he said.

Giving a breakdown of the teams set to feature in the event, Tournament Manager, Usman Dantata Jnr, disclosed that professional players from Argentina, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, among others, have started arriving in Lagos for the tournament.

Dantata listed the Majekdunmi Cup as the biggest prize of the tournament, listing other major cups as the Chapel Hill Denham Open Cup, and the Lagos Low Cup, as well as the crowded Lagos Silver Cup that would draw the curtain on the glamorous festival.

He also listed the subsidiary prizes as the Oba of Lagos Cup, Governor’s Cup, Adedapo Ojora Memorial Cup, Sani Dangote Cup, the Argentine Ambassador’s Cup, the Independence Cup, Lagos Heritage Cup, and the Cancer Awareness Bowl, among others.

He said that the Chapel Hill Denham Open Cup will be the prize to win at the opening week of the event, while the Majekodunmi Cup will take centre stage in the second week.

“The Low Cup and the Silver Cup that attracted the highest number of teams, are set to draw the curtain on the international fiesta in the third and final week.

“Let me assure everyone that with the intensification of teams’ parathions and calibre of players confirmed to showcase their talents as well as the expected high standard of games, 2026 Lagos International Polo Tournament is set to set a new standard in excitement and prestige,” Dantata added.

Apart from the game on the pitch, the organisers assured polo enthusiasts and guests expected at the tournament of a swell time, saying that a grand package of entertainment featuring the best hands in the industry has been put in place to spice up the event.