Art Hotel polo team players, team officials and Oba Oniru Palace chiefs after receiving royal blessings from the monarch in Victoria Island, Lagos, ahead of their Majekodunmi Cup campaign in the ongoing 2025 Lagos international Polo Tournament.
One of the major contenders for the top prize at the 2025 Lagos International Polo Tournament, the Art Hotel Polo Club, believes that the royal blessings it received from the Oniru of Iru-Land, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, will propel it to success in the Majekodunmi Cup.

The team, comprising players, sponsors, and their partners, paid a courtesy call on the royal father at his palace in Victoria Island, and they were warmly received by the high chiefs, who blessed them on behalf of the royal father.

Elated by the royal support, the players vowed to battle with all that they had to win the Majekodunmi Cup, which is the biggest trophy in the tournament that is in its second week.

The team had an impressive run last year, but it is stepping up to the event’s biggest prize with a newly assembled team made up of Bashir Dantata (Jnr.), Mohammed Sani Dangote, and professional players like Santiago Cernadas and Manuel both from Argentina.

Dangote, who doubles as the Captain of Lagos Polo Club, said that the team’s chemistry, the well-worked-out game strategies, the royal blessings, and their teeming supporters would be the biggest asset in the campaign for his first Majekodunmi Cup victory this year.

“It’s not going to be an easy ride, but we are ready to go all the way to victory. We are lucky to have the mount and the players who have the required exposure and experience to clinch the Majek Cup this year,” declared Dantata, who won the cup with his Lintex team three years ago.

The team’s Sports Director, Adetunji Abdul, who thanked the Oba for his blessings, stated that hosting the press conference at the Oba Oniru Palace is a change from the usual venue intended to enhance the significance of the event and to celebrate polo, which is traditionally known as the sport of kings.

Also speaking on the team’s prospects, the Director of Operations, Elie Nakhia, said: “It’s our privilege and honour to sponsor the Lagos Art Hotel Polo Team to the Majekodunmi Cup, and we look forward to a great competition.

“At the Art Hotel, we believe that an active participation in our community is vital and as such we are delighted to have the opportunity again to sponsor the Art Hotel Polo team to the Lagos International Polo Tournament.”

The opening week of the tournament ended with fanfare, last weekend, with visiting Clearwater Farm from Kaduna, and the darling of Lagos polo fans, Lagos STL, dominating.

The debuting Kaduna side won the Dapo Ojora Cup on the first attempt, while Lagos STL swept the Oba of Lagos Cup and the Chapel Hill Denham Open Cup.

https://guardian.ng/sport/other/art-hotel-polo-team-upbeat-as-battle-for-majek-cup-begins/