Polo Premier League

Polo Premier League, the world’s first inter-club polo league, has launched its all-new website at polopremierleague.com. This is the latest development for the League, ahead of its kick-off season in the summer of 2014, which will see eight of the UK’s leading polo clubs compete to be named the inaugural League champion.
The website will give visitors the opportunity to find out more about the ground-breaking sporting competition, whilst enjoying the latest world & UK club polo news. Once it is under way, fans will be able to use theses mediums to see upcoming fixtures, read interviews with key players, purchase event tickets, and get match content.
Captain of the England Polo Team, Luke Tomlinson said, “Like any other sport, polo needs to continually grow and develop, and an inter-club league is a superb way of taking the game to new audiences and developing the next generation of players. The senior England squad are fully behind the launch of the Polo Premier League and look forward to playing an instrumental role in its success and on-going management.”
Rod Kohler, Head of PR at Polo Premier League commented, “The League is entering an exciting period in its development, and we are really pleased to be able to announce the launch of our website, which will give polo fans a real taste for what the League is all about. Our activity will certainly step up a gear as the 2013 summer polo season approaches, and we look forward to many more exciting announcements in the coming months.”
Formed in May of 2012, the League has now confirmed eight of the world’s top clubs for its opening season; Guards, Beaufort, Cowdray Park, Royal County of Berkshire, Ham, Cirencester, Hurtwood and Kirtlington. The next stage of its expansion will see the League announce an overall title sponsor, along with a range of Official Partners and Suppliers.
Polo Premier League has been developed in partnership with the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), the governing body for the sport in the UK and the UK’s leading High Goal players; both will be equity stakeholders in the League and will be closely involved in its day-to-day management.
The League will be played between teams 14 goal handicap, in accordance with FIP rules, with the UK’s highest handicapped players each being allocated to a club. The three remaining places on each team will include a ‘Development Player’ who is selected from the HPA Grass Roots Development Programme, a Hall of Fame player and a Special Player. Full club squads will be announced in due course.
Each club will nominate a squad of players, supported by a team manager and coach. These teams will be split into two Leagues of four, creating 24 League games. Games will be four chukkas in the preliminary rounds. Each club will play each other twice in their League, once at home and once away; where possible the main ground for each club will be used. The League will follow HPA rules, with some agreed changes, not dissimilar to other sports but new to field polo, to enhance the spectator value of the game. The League will not interrupt any existing polo programme currently played in the UK.
David Woodd, Chief Executive of the HPA – “The Polo Premier League® is a great step forward for the sport in the UK and by including a HPA Development Player in each team, we will be giving the next generation of English players the opportunity to take part in some highly competitive games throughout the season.”
polopremierleague.com