World Polo Championship

Last updated
World Polo Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Sports current event.svg 2022 World Polo Championship
Sport Polo
Founded1987
No. of teams8 (Finals)
ContinentInternational (FIP)
Most recent
champion(s)
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain (1st title)
Most titlesFlag of Argentina.svg  Argentina (5 titles)

The World Polo Championship is a polo (Horse Polo) competition between countries (Up to 2022, only for men). The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the Federation of International Polo (FIP), and is contested by the national teams. There is no restriction on the gender of the players. The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by Argentina, and is now contested every three or four years.

Contents

History

In the early 1980s, motivated by a desire to broaden the scope of international polo, as well as to restore the sport's Olympic status, Marcos Uranga, then President of the Argentine Polo Association, proposed that an international organization be formed among the polo playing countries of the world. The initial meetings took place in Buenos Aires, and by April 1982, the Federation of International Polo, quickly known as “FIP,” was created. FIP's first President was Marcos Uranga.

To that end, Mr. Uranga spearheaded the movement for a World Championship and scheduled the first for April 1987 in the Campo Argentino de Polo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aware of the relative difficulty of fielding high-goal teams worldwide, the early FIP organizers wisely decided to limit competition to teams rated 10 to 14 goals. And, in an attempt to nullify the factor of the horses, they devised the then-revolutionary idea of split strings of horses – assigning matched strings of 28 horses to each team by the luck of the draw.

In 1989, the second FIP World Championship was played in Berlin, at Maifeld, the very stadium that had been the site of polo's last appearance in the Olympic Games. The sport had come full-circle, and it underlined the growing influence of FIP in the world polo community. Argentina, Australia, Chile, England, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United States advanced to the playoffs. But this time there was a surprise: Argentina failed to make the finals. A talented U.S. team beat England by one goal for a 7–6 final score. The U.S. team players were: Horton Schwartz, Julio Arellano, Charley Bostwick and John Wigdahl who scored the winning goal in the sixth chukker. The resulting publicity raised the visibility of FIP among U.S. polo players.

World Polo Championship - Argentina 2011 Mundial De Polo San Luis 2011 - Argentina.jpg
World Polo Championship – Argentina 2011

FIP World Championship III was played in Santiago, Chile, in 1992. Argentina made it “back to back” through the regionals, and knocked off team after team until they wound up in the finals. There they outscored the host country 12–7 for their second World Championship. The U.S. had to be content with fourth place behind England.

In 1995, the fourth World Championship was held in Saint Moritz, Switzerland. Brazil fought its way gamely through the early rounds to meet Argentina in the final. Now it was Brazil's turn for triumph. They pulled out an exciting win 11–10 to assume the mantle of World Polo Champions.

Since 1993 Michael Schultz-Tholen, then the FIP delegate to the International Olympic Committee, arranged numerous meetings with IOC representatives including the President of the International Olympic Committee Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch. Finally at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee granted the status of an IOC Recognized Sport and accepted the Federation of International Polo as the worldwide governing body for the sport of polo. This decision was confirmed ("outright recognition") two years later.

In 1998, the fifth World Championship was held at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Santa Barbara, California. Mr. James Easton, a Member of the International Olympic Committee, presented Argentina, the winning team, with a history-making Olympic trophy. This was the first time in 62 years that the winning team of an international polo tournament was so honored.

The FIP World Championship VI held in Melbourne, Australia in 2001 featured eight national teams that qualified through a demanding and highly competitive zone playoff system, which included 24 country teams participating worldwide. Brazil narrowly defeated Australia by one goal (Brazil 10, Australia 9) in an exciting tournament that any of the eight finalists could have won.

In 2004, the Sixth World Championship was held in Chantilly, France. The tournament included eight teams. The qualifying rounds included 28 countries competing. All the games were very competitive. Brazil was not ready to give the title and defeated England in the final game (10 -9) in sudden death.

The eighth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in Mexico during May 2008 and was won by Chile.

The ninth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in San Luis Province, Argentina during October 2011 and was won by Argentina. Brazil being second, and Italy took the third place after defeating England. It was the first time in World Polo Championship for Italy to achieve a podium.

The tenth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in Santiago, Chile during march and April 2015 and was won by the host, beating the United States in the final.

Championships

NumberYearHostChampion2nd3rd
1 1987 Buenos Aires, Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg  Brazil
2 1989 Berlin, Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
3 1992 Santiago, Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of England.svg  England
4 1995 Sankt Moritz, Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
5 1998 Santa Barbara, Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of England.svg  England
6 2001 Melbourne, Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
7 2004 Chantilly, Flag of France.svg  France Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
8 2008 Mexico City, Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
9 2011 Estancia Grande (San Luis)  [ es ], Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
10 2015 Santiago, Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
11 2017 Sydney, Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of England.svg  England
12 2022 Wellington, Flag of the United States.svg  United States [1] [2] Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay

Medals (1987–2022)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 5128
2Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3328
3Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2215
4Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1203
5Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1001
6Flag of England.svg  England 0235
7Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 0123
8Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 0101
9Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 0011
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 0011
Totals (10 entries)12121236

Ranking

Pos.TeamChampionRunners-upThirdFourth
1stFlag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 5 (1987, 1992, 1998, 2011, 2017)1 (1995)2 (1989, 2001)1 (2022)
2ndFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3 (1995, 2001, 2004)3 (1998, 2008, 2011)2 (1987, 2015)
3rdFlag of Chile.svg  Chile 2 (2008, 2015)2 (1992, 2017)1 (2004)1 (1989)
4thFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1 (1989)2 (2015, 2022)3 (1992, 1998, 2017)
5thFlag of Spain.svg  Spain 1 (2022)2 (1987, 2008)
6thFlag of England.svg  England 2 (1989, 2004)3 (1992, 1998, 2017)4 (1995, 2001, 2011, 2015)
7thFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 1 (1987)2 (1995, 2008)
8thFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1 (2001)
9thFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 1 (2011)
10thFlag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 1 (2022)
11thFlag of France.svg  France 1 (2004)

Nations

Country 1987 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2008 2011 2015 2017 2022
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1st3rd1st2nd1st3rdP. round1stP. round1st
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3rd1st2nd1st1st2nd2nd3rd-
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 4th2nd3rd1stP. round1st2nd
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1st4th4thP. roundP. roundP. round2nd4th
Flag of England.svg  England 2nd3rd4th3rd4th2ndP. round4th4th3rd
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 2ndP. round3rd1st round3rdP. round-
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 5thP. roundP. round2nd1st roundP. roundP. round
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy P. round3rd-
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 4th4thP. round
Flag of France.svg  France P. round4th-
Flag of India.svg  India P. roundP. roundP. roundP. round
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan P. roundP. roundP. round-
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand P. roundP. round
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada P. roundP. round-
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala P. roundP. round-
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland P. roundP. round-
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa P. round-
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany P. round-
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay --3rd

See also

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References

  1. "FIP World Polo Championship returns to USA after 23 years". www.pololine.com. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  2. "Spain wins World Polo Championship for the first time". marca.com. Retrieved 2022-11-07.