The FIP XI World Championships
The play-offs will take place in the five zones that FIP has divided its member Associations. The five zones are:
Zone A – Bruce Colley, Steve Orthwein’s Deputy Director for Zone A has done a great job of securing the play-offs at Casa de Campo hopefully in late April 2017. Currently confirmed for the Zone are USA, Canada, Mexico and Dominican Republic and the FIP are waiting to hear confirmation from Guatemala.
Zone B – FIP World Championship play-offs for Zone B have now been confirmed by the President of the Uruguayan Polo Association German Pena to be played in Punta del Este in late January and early February 2017 a couple of weeks after the Uruguayan Open. With teams participating from Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay.
Zone C – Piero Dillier, the Zone Director of the Polo Club du Domaine
de Chantilly, will be hosting the Zone C play-offs with participating teams from
France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Germany and United Kingdom, probably Germany and possibly the Netherlands. Two teams from this zone will qualify for the World Championships.
Zone D – With regards to the Zone D play-offs, they will be hosted by the Royal Malaysian Polo Association whose proposal has been accepted by FIP who are extremely grateful to HRH Prince Abdullah and his committee for this. The play-offs will take place late January and early February 2017 at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, hosted and organized by the Royal Malaysian Polo Association.
Zone E – Interest has been expressed from the Lahore Polo Club in Pakistan and there is also the possibility of running the play-offs in China at the Metropolitan Polo Club courtesy of our Vice President, Mr. Pan Sutton, but there may be other bids from one of the other playing nations. Potential participants are South Africa, Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Congratulations to Polo Club Ebreichsdorf of Austria which celebrated their 25th Anniversary on 18 June 2016.
The 90th FIP Ambassador’s Cup, which is being held to coincide with the 90th Anniversary of HPC the London Polo Club in London, is now fully subscribed with six teams. The teams will be named after polo clubs which existed in the UK 90 years ago with the exception of Billingbear which will be hosting the preliminary matches at their beautiful high goal grounds. The teams are named Ranelagh, Rugby, Roehampton, Ham, Cowdray Park and Billingbear.
The XI FIP European Championships will be played at 6-8 goal level in Berlin at the end of August and early September with nine teams representing France, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia.
Photograph: Chile won last year’s FIP Championship Final against USA. By Felipe Goga
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