Polo in the Philippines
CountryPhilippines
Governing bodyPhilippine National Federation of Polo Players
National team(s)Philippine national polo team
First played1900s

Polo is a sport mainly played by the elite in the Philippines and was introduced in the country by the Americans.

History

Polo was introduced in the Philippines during the United States colonial administration of the islands. Governor General William Cameron Forbes is credited for building the Forbes Park, the first polo field in the Philippines and establishing the Manila Polo Club in 1909. Polo has only been accessible to the Filipino elite and senior military officers. Since then, the sport has been proliferated by rich influential families such as the Elizalde and Zobel families and political families such as the Romeros.[1]

National team

The Philippines national polo team is organized and controlled by the Philippine National Federation of Polo Players (PNFPP), an associate member of the Philippine Olympic Committee since 2020.[2][3] It has competed in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games where it won a silver and a bronze,[4] and at the 2020 All Asia Cup where it finished as runners-up.[5]

Polo fields

References

  1. ^ "Polo history in the Philippines". The Manila Times. July 5, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Romero dedicates his SEAG polo games to late son". The Manila Times. November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "POC recognizes polo as NSA associate member". Manila Times. July 22, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "Polo, sport of kings, on today". Tempo. November 23, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "GlobalPort-PH polo team nails All Asia Cup medal finish". Rappler. February 19, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Polo field to be powered by PLDT-Smart". The Philippine Star. October 25, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
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