Jos International Polo Tournament

About the Tournament

The Jos International Polo Tournament is Nigeria's most prestigious polo event and one of Africa's most celebrated sporting occasions, held annually over the New Year holiday period in Jos, Plateau State. The tournament has a heritage stretching back to the colonial era when British officials and Nigerian royalty shared a passion for polo in the highland capital of central Nigeria. Today the Jos tournament is a showcase of the vitality of Nigerian polo, drawing teams and patrons from across the country's polo heartland — Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina — for a week-long festival of sport and celebration. The New Year timing makes it a social as well as sporting occasion, with polo-playing emirs, governors, and business leaders all in attendance. The Jos highland setting at 1,200 metres above sea level creates perfect playing conditions during the harmattan dry season, and the tournament's longevity makes it a foundational institution of African polo.