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World Polo Championship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
World Polo Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2022 World Polo Championship
SportPolo
Founded1987
No. of teams8 (Finals)
ContinentInternational (FIP)
Most recent
champion(s)		 Spain (1st title)
Most titles Argentina (5 titles)

The World Polo Championship is an international polo competition between countries. 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.

History

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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.

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. 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 competed in the tournament's second edition.[1] A talented USA team beat England 7–6 in the final.[1] The USA 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 the FIP among U.S. polo players.

A match between Argentina and Mexico at the 2011 World Polo Championships

The FIP World Championship III was held in Santiago, Chile in 1992.[2] Argentina outscored the host country 12–7 in the final securing their second World Championship. England beat the USA for bronze.[2]

Starting in 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 1995, the fourth World Championship was held in Saint Moritz, Switzerland.[3] Brazil fought its way gamely through the early rounds and met Argentina in the final where they pulled off an exciting 11–10 victory to assume the mantle of World Polo Champions.[3]

In 1998, the fifth World Championship was held at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Santa Barbara, California.[4] 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 international teams. Brazil narrowly defeated Australia by one goal (Brazil 10, Australia 9) in the final.[5]

In 2004, the Sixth World Championship was held in Chantilly, France. The tournament included eight teams. 28 countries competed in the qualifying rounds. All of the games were competitive. Brazil defeated England in the final (10-9) in sudden death.[6]

The eighth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in Mexico during May 2008 and was won by Chile.[7]

The ninth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in San Luis Province, Argentina during October 2011.[8] Argentina defeated Brazil in the final and Italy took the third place after defeating England.[8] It was the first time in World Polo Championship that Italy achieved a podium finish.

The tenth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in Santiago, Chile during March and April 2015. The hosts won beating the United States 12–11 in overtime in the final.[9]

In the 2017 World Polo Championship Argentina beat Chile in the final securing their fifth title.[10]

In the twelfth edition of the Championship, Spain clinched an 11-10 win in overtime against the USA for their first ever title.[11]

Results

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Men

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# Year Host Champion 2nd 3rd Ref.
1 1987 Buenos Aires,  Argentina  Argentina  Mexico  Brazil
2 1989 Berlin,  Germany  United States  England  Argentina [1]
3 1992 Santiago,  Chile  Argentina  Chile  England [2]
4 1995 St. Moritz,   Switzerland  Brazil  Argentina  Mexico [3]
5 1998 Santa Barbara,  United States  Argentina  Brazil  England [4]
6 2001 Melbourne,  Australia  Brazil  Australia  Argentina [5]
7 2004 Chantilly,  France  Brazil  England  Chile [6][12]
8 2008 Mexico City,  Mexico  Chile  Brazil  Mexico [7]
9 2011 San Luis Province,  Argentina  Argentina  Brazil  Italy [8]
10 2015 Santiago,  Chile  Chile  United States  Brazil [9]
11 2017 Sydney,  Australia  Argentina  Chile  England [10][13]
12 2022 Wellington,  United States  Spain  United States  Uruguay [11][14]

Women

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# Year Host Champion 2nd 3rd Ref.
1 2022 Campo Argentino de Polo, Buenos Aires  Argentina  Argentina  United States  England [15]

Medals

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Men (1987–2022)

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Argentina5128
2 Brazil3328
3 Chile2215
4 United States1203
5 Spain1001
6 England0235
7 Mexico0123
8 Australia0101
9 Italy0011
 Uruguay0011
Totals (10 entries)12121236

Women (2022)

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Argentina1001
2 United States0101
3 England0011
Totals (3 entries)1113

Ranking

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Pos. Team Champion Runners-up Third Fourth
1st  Argentina 5 (1987, 1992, 1998, 2011, 2017) 1 (1995) 2 (1989, 2001) 1 (2022)
2nd  Brazil 3 (1995, 2001, 2004) 3 (1998, 2008, 2011) 2 (1987, 2015) –
3rd  Chile 2 (2008, 2015) 2 (1992, 2017) 1 (2004) 1 (1989)
4th  United States 1 (1989) 2 (2015, 2022) – 3 (1992, 1998, 2017)
5th  Spain 1 (2022) – – 2 (1987, 2008)
6th  England – 2 (1989, 2004) 3 (1992, 1998, 2017) 4 (1995, 2001, 2011, 2015)
7th  Mexico – 1 (1987) 2 (1995, 2008) –
8th  Australia – 1 (2001) – –
9th  Italy – – 1 (2011) –
10th  Uruguay – – 1 (2022) –
11th  France – – – 1 (2004)

Nations

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Country 1987 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2008 2011 2015 2017 2022
 Argentina 1st 3rd 1st 2nd 1st 3rd P. round – 1st P. round 1st 4th
 Australia 5th P. round – – P. round 2nd 1st round – P. round – P. round P. round
 Brazil 3rd – – 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd – –
 Canada – – – – – P. round – P. round – – – –
 Chile – 4th 2nd – – – 3rd 1st P. round 1st 2nd –
 England – 2nd 3rd 4th 3rd 4th 2nd P. round 4th 4th 3rd –
 France – P. round – – – – 4th – – – – –
 Germany – P. round – – – – – – – – – –
 Guatemala – – P. round – P. round – – – – – – –
 India – – – P. round – P. round – – P. round – P. round –
 Italy – – – – – P. round – – 3rd – – P. round
 Mexico 2nd – P. round 3rd – – 1st round 3rd P. round – – P. round
 New Zealand – – – – – – – P. round – – P. round –
 Pakistan – – – – – – P. round – P. round P. round – P. round
 South Africa – – – – – – – P. round – – – –
 Spain 4th – – – – – – 4th – – P. round 1st
 Switzerland – P. round – P. round – – – – – – – –
 United States – 1st 4th – 4th P. round P. round – P. round 2nd 4th 2nd
 Uruguay – – – – – – – – – – – 3rd

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "1989 II FIP World Polo Championship" (PDF). Fippolo. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "1992 III FIP World Polo Championship" (PDF). FIPPOLLO. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "1995 IV FIP World Polo Championship" (PDF). FIPPOLO. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b "1998 V FIP World Polo Championship" (PDF). FIPPOLO. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b "2001 VI FIP World Polo Championship" (PDF). FIPPOLO. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Brazil wins the FIP World Cup Final against England". www.nswpolo.com.au. September 23, 2004. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  7. ^ a b "CHILE WIN: 8th POLO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2008". Australian Polo. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "2011 IX FIP World Polo Championship" (PDF). FIPPOLO. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  9. ^ a b "The United States Polo Team Defeated by Chile in Overtime 12-11 in FIP World Polo Championship Final". Yahoo. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  10. ^ a b "XI FIP World Polo Championship". US Polo. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  11. ^ a b "FIP World Polo Championship returns to USA after 23 years". www.pololine.com. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  12. ^ "Brazil are polo World Champions yet again". Horse & Hound. 2004-09-23. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  13. ^ "FOURTH PLACE FINISH FOR USA IN XI FIP WORLD POLO CHAMPIONSHIP". US Polo. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Spain wins World Polo Championship for the first time". marca.com. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  15. ^ "Inaugural FIP Women's Polo World Championship". Pete's Blog Garden. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
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