Out of Africa

Intent on fixing polo firmly on the calendar of the continent, Nigeria’s foremost club also aims to help those in the community who need it most, say Ade Adedeji and Terri Brennan

Polo may not be the first topic that springs to mind when you think of Nigeria. Indeed, the country’s prevailing narrative generally omits its Argentine ponies, 20-goal polo, international professional players, modern facilities or solid roster of patrons. What Nigeria is most often associated with is poverty – women and children being at greatest risk – but Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Club is doing its best to address this.

Excepting South Africa, the Fifth Chukker Club is perhaps the leading private polo facility in the continent. Located in northern Nigeria, on the outskirts of the ancient city of Kaduna, it was founded in 2001 as a private ‘farm’ to hold practice games among friends and businessmen. Since then, it has developed into a world-class equestrian facility, with three regulation-sized polo fields, riding trails, an exercise track and stabling for up to 400 horses, as well as the facilities to host private and corporate events.

Describing itself as ‘representing the new in the old world of the equestrian sport of polo’, Fifth Chukker aligns its sporting programme

Opposite Field no 3 with the clubhouse in the distance and a line of traditionally built pony huts in the foreground This page, from top Fifth Chukker’s cheque for UNICEF; youngsters, pictured with umpires, enjoy a taste of polo

with a sturdy corporate-social-responsibility platform. Its aim is to simultaneously tackle the sport’s reputation of elitism, while enabling the game of kings to give back; helping to improve the health and education of Africa’s poor.

To this end, Fifth Chukker has developed a model to help raise both awareness and funding for charitable schemes through partnerships with NGOs such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); corporate sponsors such as MTN, the South African multinational telecommunications company; and one of the continent’s top financial institutions, Access Bank. It is through these collaborations that the club tournaments have become known as ‘socially responsible polo’.

The funds and goodwill generated by the use of its facilities and via attendance at its tournaments create what Ahmed Dasuki, the chairman of the club’s board of trustees, describes as ‘a unique, creative blend of sports and humanity’.

Dasuki is referring, in particular, to one of its signature events, the UK Access Bank Fifth Chukker Polo Day, now in its fourth year, held in 2015 edition at the prestigious Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park. This event complements the Access Bank Charity Shield Tournament held at Fifth Chukker, which supports UNICEF programmes working towards alleviating poverty and tackling illiteracy – particularly for children in northern Nigeria affected by HIV/AIDS.

The club is best known for the two major tournaments on its calendar: the Charity Shield Tournament, played in May and June, and the African Patrons Cup, which takes place in October. Both competitions are open to patrons and players from all over the world, and feature low, medium and high-goal cups.

At the most recent African Patrons Cup, Fifth Chukker introduced its inaugural Pink Polo Tournament, which featured female players from the USA and South Africa. October is the month each year during which the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign highlights the importance of breast education and research, and the match served as the closing event for the club’s contribution to its efforts. Free breast screenings were offered in two states in Nigeria, and a fundraising walk was held in Kaduna.

Right from the start, strategic planning has gone into creating and maintaining a socially responsible platform at Fifth Chukker. Through the leadership and vision of the club’s founder, Adamu Atta, and with the guidance of Ahmed Dasuki – both successful entrepreneurs as well as passionate polo players – it continues to forge invaluable partnerships that will assist in achieving its goals.

As well as working with UNICEF, state governments and NGOs, Fifth Chukker counts the traditional rulers of the northern states as key allies. Perhaps most important, however, are those patrons from across Nigeria and further afield who support and participate in Fifth Chukker’s very special brand of forward-thinking polo.