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Muhammad Babangida

Founder of the El Amin Polo Club

Muhammad Babangida

Founder of the El Amin Polo Club

FB_IMG_1478460718344Muhammad Babangida is an avid polo player and founder of the El Amin Polo Club, a member of the Nigerian Polo Federation. He was drawn to the sport at an early age, growing up around horses and attending local polo clubs with his uncle. In addition to his love for horses, Muhammad enjoys the competitiveness and challenge that the sport provides. Polo requires a great deal of discipline, commitment, and concentration in order to compete and succeed at a high level towards the game.

After graduating from school,Muhammad Babangida decided to take up the sport much more seriously. In 1995, he formed the El Admin Polo Club and has been playing the sport competitively ever since.

The 2,500-year-old game of polo is one of the fastest, roughest, and most demanding sports played today. As Muhammad contends, it is not a sport for the faint of heart. Players need to be strong, highly skilled and courageous.

Polo is also gaining increasing popularity as a premier spectator sport as it can be an extremely easy game for first-time spectator to enjoy. The excitement of seeing players on thoroughbred horses bumping and jostling with each other while racing at top speeds down the field while striking a small ball with the precision of skilled golfer is truly a remarkable experience.

The El-Amin Polo Team was formed in October 1995. At the centre is the patron and founder Muhammad Babangida (+4). His vision is to have a formidable team that would set new standards in the game of polo. Ibrahim Mohammed (+4) and Bello Buba, highest rated player in Nigeria today (+5) and Aminu Alhaji (+2) have been in the forefront of this campaign since inception. The team was officially launched into the polo scene in November 1995. The team has since captured the hearts of polo enthusiasts.

As it stands today, in terms of composition and participation, El-Amin remains perhaps the most consistent team in the history of the Nigerian Polo Federation (N.P.F). It has won every trophy or award available in the Nigerian Polo circuit and has remained unbeaten in the last five years. The team easily retained their crown as the Team of the Year 2010.

El-Amin won all the tournaments they contested in 2009 and set a record by claiming their seventh Emir of Katsina Cup title in Kano State, Nigeria, having previously won the crown in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008. That record easily put the Kaduna-based polo team above their peers and rivals in the last decade.

FB_IMG_1478460886597 (1)Last November, the team set another all-time record, completing another decade of Georgian Cup domination, Africa’s most coveted polo prize, with their eighth victory to earn a deserving Team of the Decade award. El-Amin has clinched this highly competitive and sought after Cup in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 , 2014, 2015 and 2016.

In addition to its grand slam achievements, the team won the Majekodunmi Cup (the highest honours in the Lagos tournament) in 1999, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009.