Zaria Polo Club

Zaria Polo Club

The Zaria Polo Club is one of the earliest Polo clubs established in the northern part of Nigeria; it was founded in the early 1900s by the British Army who later on was joined by both expatriate and local civilians. The club had gone into dormancy several times with the recent one being from 1998 to 2009. It was revived through the concerted efforts of its current membership and with much support from the Telecoms Companies and other Organizations.

History of Polo Game

Polo is thought to have originated in China and Persia around 2,000 years ago. The name of the game may well come from the word “pholo” meaning ‘ball’ or ‘ballgame’ in the Balti language of Tibet. The first recorded game took place in 600BC between the Turkomans and Persians (the Turkomans won). In the fourth century AD, King Sapoor II of Persia learned to play, aged seven. In the 16th century, a polo ground (300 yards long and with goalposts eight yards apart) was built at Ispahan, then the capital, by Shah Abbas the Great.

Description of Polo

The object of the game is to move the polo ball down-field, hitting the ball through the goal posts for a score. Polo teams then change direction after each goal in order to compensate for field and wind conditions. A team is made up of four polo players.
A polo match is usually played outdoors. A polo field is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide, the largest field in organized sport.
A polo match lasts about one and one-half hours and is divided into timed periods called chucker. Each checker is seven minutes long.

Future of Polo

The sun of a new millennium is shining upon polo as we begin another thousand years of the sport. Polo games of the future will most likely resemble polo games of the past. Fundamental changes to the game have been few, though there were a few innovations, such as the use of plastic for polo balls and helmets. The essential elements of the game have resisted change. The game has been and always will be played by men and women who possess a zest for adventure and challenge. Polo has been and always will be characterized by the athleticism and beauty of the horse.