Ghana overcome Nigeria to win second edition of Stanbic Bank Polo Invitational Tournament

Ghana maintained its dominance over Nigeria, beating their West African rivals in the second edition of the Stanbic Bank Polo Invitational Tournament.

Represented by the Accra Polo Club, Ghana overpowered Abuja's Guards Polo Club 6-4 in Saturday's encounter in Accra.

The fiercely contested match produced 10 goals across four chukkas, with the Nigerian side pushing hard to overturn the deficit. However, the Ghanaians held firm to seal victory.

16-year-old Haleem Ibrahim from the Accra Polo Club was named Most Valuable Player.

“This is my first time playing in the Stanbic Invitational Polo Tournament. I've been playing polo for four years, so this is a great achievement. I wasn't initially supposed to play, but one of our players got injured, so I had to replace him.

“It was a great game. Fortunately, we won. It's a really great feeling. This is my second time being named MVP in my four years of playing polo.”

Stanbic Bank has signed a five-year partnership with the Accra Polo Club to strengthen its association with the sport and create networking opportunities for its clients.

The bank's Head of Wealth and Investment, Sheila Anda, highlighted the partnership's objectives.

“At Stanbic Bank, we believe in collaborations and partnerships with key stakeholders. We have decided to partner with the Accra Polo Club every year to host this event. It is the Accra versus Abuja event for our high-net-worth clients.

“This is targeted at that category of clients, allowing them to engage with like-minded individuals. We can also add value to them by bringing them together with the Accra Polo Club, as well as their colleagues and peers in the industry.”

Standard Bank's Head of International Wealth and Investment, Will Groat, was also present at the tournament.

“Sports need support to function. These great clubs and athletes all need financial support to make sure the games can go ahead and people are properly equipped. Nothing brings people together quite like sport,” Groat said.

Executive Committee Member of the Accra Polo Club, Ato Bentsi-Enchill, assured the bank that the club would maximise the benefits of the sponsorship.

“We are very proud partners of Stanbic Bank. We look forward to doing more work with them. In fact, this year, they extended the partnership for five years, so we're looking forward to more of these types of events and building the relationship a lot more.”

The annual Ghana-Nigeria Polo Tournament seeks to strengthen ties between the two countries through sport while providing entertainment for spectators.