Federation of International Polo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Federation of International Polo

Abbreviation	FIP
Formation	1982
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Membership	82 (March 2022)
Website	fippolo.com

The Federation of International Polo (FIP) is the international federation representing the sport of polo, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The FIP was founded in 1982 by representatives of eleven national polo associations, and it represents the national polo associations of more than 80 countries. Its principal aim is to enhance the international image and status of polo.

In addition to organising international tournaments, the FIP develops international tournaments for children, conducts umpiring and coaching seminars, encourages participation in the sport at all levels and ages, and makes the international rules of polo through a cooperative agreement with the Asociación Argentina de Polo, the Hurlingham Polo Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and the United States Polo Association.

History

In 1978, Marcos Uranga organized the first international polo tournament for clubs. It was held in Buenos Aires, with representatives from polo clubs throughout South America. Inspired by the success of the tournament, Uranga began considering the idea of competitions between countries.

By the early 1980s, motivated by the desire to broaden the scope of international polo and reinstate its Olympic status, Uranga (who became president of the Argentine Polo Association) suggested an international organization of polo-playing countries. Uranga and former US ambassador Glen Holden had become friends, and he asked Holden for help. An initial meeting was held in Buenos Aires, and by April 1982 a federation was created with the polo associations of twelve countries. Its headquarters were in Argentina because that country was considered to have the most experience in organizing tournaments. It was suitable for polo practice, had many horses, and many foreigners attended the annual Argentine Open. Uranga was the FIP's first president, a position he held for 15 years.

The federation was created by Uranga and Holden on November 25, 1982, in Buenos Aires with representatives of the national polo associations of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Spain and Zimbabwe. Its principal aim was to enhance the image and status of polo at the international level. In December of that year, the Argentine Polo Association invited the national polo associations of the twelve countries to a meeting to establish an international group that would promote international competitions, obtain recognition from the International Olympic Committee, standardise the rules of the sport, develop it worldwide, and support the breeding of polo ponies. When the FIP was founded, Uranga said that one of his primary objectives was to bring polo players together to enhance the sport. The federation was accepted as a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) in October 1992 at the association's general assembly in Monaco.

The FIP is a non-profit organization registered in Uruguay at the Ministry of Education and Culture and governed by Uruguayan law. It is known as the Federación Internacional de Polo in Spanish, hence its acronym FIP. Uranga stepped down as FIP president in 1997, although he remained active in the federation chose. Its second president was Glen Holden.

IGF

International Chovgan Federation (IGF) for Chovgan established in 2 February 2024. First IGF World Chovgan Championships was held in Azerbaijan in november of 2023. Azerbaijan national and Morocco in the final and Poland and Uzbekistan in the 3rd place.

Presidents

Name	Country	Term
Marcos Uranga	Argentina	1982-1998
Glen Holden Sr.	United States of America	1997-2006
Patrick Guerrand-Hermès	Morocco	2006-2009
James Ashton	Australia	2009-2010
Eduardo Huergo	Argentina	2010-2012
Dr. Richard T. Caleel	United States of America	2012-2014
Nicholas Colquhoun-Denvers	United Kingdom	2014–2018
Horacio Areco	Argentina	2018–2021

Membership

Types

• Full — 48
  • Category A — Countries where polo is more developed — 4
  • Category B — Countries with more than 100 registered players, excluding Category A — 14
  • Category C — Countries with up to 100 registered players, excluding Category B — 30
• Corresponding members — 22
• Contact members — 12

Zones

• Zone A — North and Central America — 11
• Zone B — South America — 10
• Zone C — Europe — 28
• Zone D — East Asia and Oceania — 12
• Zone E — Africa and West Asia — 21

FIP events

• World Polo Championship (men)
• Polo at the Summer Olympics
• Polo at the Pan American Games
• Polo at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games
• Polo at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games
• Polo at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games
• FIP Snow Polo World Cup Invitational
• FIP European Polo Championships
• FIP Ladies European Polo Championship
• FIP Super Nations Cup
• FIP Ambassador's Cup
• FIP Children's Championships

Non-FIP events

• PIPA Snow Polo World Cup Tour
• PIPA Beach Polo World Series
• Ezra Cup
• Mannheim May Market

World championships

Number	Year	Host	Winner
I	1987	Argentina	Argentina
II	1989	Germany	United States
III	1992	Chile	Argentina
IV	1995	Switzerland	Brazil
V	1998	United States	Argentina
VI	2001	Australia	Brazil
VII	2004	France	Brazil
VIII	2008	Mexico	Chile
IX	2011	Argentina	Argentina
X	2015	Chile	Chile
XI	2017	Australia	Argentina
XII	2022	United States	Spain

European championships

Source:

Men

The European championship is a 6–8 goal tournament for all European FIP member countries. It was introduced in 1993 based on an idea by Reto Gaudenzi, the Swiss founder ambassador of the FIP who created the St. Moritz Snow Polo Tournament. The European championship's handicap provides an opportunity for European players and patrons to participate in a FIP event and represent their country. Due to Piero Dillier's work as zone C director, the event has grown in popularity. The European championship is unique in the close proximity of the European countries, which makes it easier for national federations to send ponies and players to the host country. It is the most valuable tournament, after the World Polo Championships. In 2018, during the XII FIP European Polo Championship and II FIP Ladies European Polo Championship (both at the Villa a Sesta Polo Club in Italy), the organization had a record attendance of European polo teams and countries.

2023: 1-  Spain 2-  Azerbaijan 3-  Germany

Men's medals, 1993–2023

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	England (ENG)	6	1	1	8
2	Italy (ITA)	3	2	0	5
3	France (FRA)	2	1	2	5
	Spain (ESP)	2	1	2	5
5	Ireland (IRL)	1	2	2	5
6	Austria (AUT)	0	2	0	2
	Azerbaijan (AZE)	0	2	0	2
8	Germany (GER)	0	1	3	4
9	Netherlands (NED)	0	1	1	2
10	Belgium (BEL)	0	1	0	1
11	Switzerland (SUI)	0	0	2	2
12	Sweden (SWE)	0	0	1	1
Totals (12 entries)		14	14	14	42

FIP European Championships

European champions Final Runners-up Third place

1993, Jul 21-31 St. Moritz SUI ENG 11:3 ITA SUI

1995, Aug 17-27 Antwerpen BEL ENG 8:2 GER SUI

1997, Sep 05-14 Milano ITA ENG 9:3 ITA ESP

1999, Sep 18-26 Chantilly FRA ENG 6:4 IRL GER

2002, Sep 06-15 Roma ITA FRA 6:5,5 NED SWE

2005, Aug 26 - Sep 04 Vreeland NED ITA 9:6 ENG NED

2008, Sep 04-14 Hamburg GER ENG 7:3,5 BEL FRA

2010, Sep 03-12 Ebreichsdorf AUT FRA 10:8 ESP ENG

2012, Sep 07-16 Sotogrande ESP ESP 8:2 AUT IRL

2014, Sep 04-14 Chantilly FRA ENG 6:3 IRL FRA

2016, Aug 26 - Sep 04 Berlin GER IRL 7:4 FRA GER

2018, Sep 20-30 Villa a Sesta ITA ITA 8:4 AZE IRL

2021, Sep 12-19 Sotogrande ESP ITA 6:5 AUT ESP

2023, Sep 01-10 Düsseldorf GER ESP 9:6 AZE GER

2021: Originally planned on 2020, Sep 10-20 in Baku AZE first postponed to 2021, Sep 01-12, finally relocated on 2021, Jun 03 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FIP Ladies European Championships

European champions Final Runners-up Third place

2017, Apr 30 - May 07 Chantilly FRA ITA 5:4 FRA GER

2018, Sep 20-30 Villa a Sesta ITA GER 9:4,5 ITA NED

2021, Sep 22-26 Milano ITA ITA 6,5:6 ENG IRL

2023, Jul 03-09 Punta Ala ITA GER --- ITA FRA

Women

• 2017 – Chantilly, France (4 teams)
  • Winner: Italy
  • Runner-up: France
  • Third place: Germany
  • Fourth place: England

• 2018 – Villa a Sesta, Italy (4 teams)
  • Winner: Germany
  • Runner-up: Italy
  • Third place: Netherlands
  • Fourth place: France

• 2021 - La Mimosa Polo Club, Italy (4 teams)
  • Winner: Italy
  • Runner-up: England
  • Third place: Ireland
  • Fourth place: Germany

Women's medals, 2017–2023

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Italy (ITA)	2	2	0	4
2	Germany (GER)	2	0	1	3
3	France (FRA)	0	1	1	2
4	England (ENG)	0	1	0	1
5	Ireland (IRL)	0	0	1	1
	Netherlands (NED)	0	0	1	1
Totals (6 entries)		4	4	4	12

Other FIP tournaments

Children's polo

Every year, FIP and the polo federations of member countries organize events for children under 14. Players arrive a week before the tournament, and stay at the homes of families of local players. The Polo Training Federation of the US, the FIP, and El Dorado member Fred Mannix sponsored one of the first FIP children's tournaments in 1991.

FIP Snow Polo World Cup Invitational

First conceived in 1959, snow polo did not get its official start until 1985, when the first match was played on the frozen surface of Lake St. Moritz in Switzerland. Although the first match attracted only 1,000 spectators, snow polo has become more popular and is also played in Italy, Austria, France, the United States, Argentina, Russia, Spain and China.

Snow polo is notably gaining ground in China, where the inaugural Snow Polo World Cup Invitational was held in 2012 at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club. The tournament is played according to FIP snow-polo rules. The Metropolitan Polo Club is China's largest polo facility. The tournament, hosted by the Equestrian Association of China and the FIP, is organized by the Tianjin Sports Bureau, the Hong Kong Polo Development and Promotion Federation (HKPDPF) and the Tianjin Polo Association with sponsor support.

• 2012 – Tianjin, China – (12 teams)
  • Winner: Hong Kong
  • Runner-up: South Africa
  • Other participants: England (third place), Argentina (fourth), Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy, India, the US, New Zealand, France

• 2013 – Tianjin, China – (12 teams)
  • Winner: Hong Kong
  • Runner-up: Argentina
  • Other participants: England (third), South Africa (fourth), Australia, Brazil, Chile, Canada, India, the US, France, New Zealand

• 2014 – Tianjin, China (12 teams)
  • Winner: England
  • Runner-up: Hong Kong
  • Other participants: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the US

• 2015 – Tianjin, China (12 teams)
  • Winner: Brazil
  • Runner up: the US
  • Other participants: Argentina (third), France (fourth), Canada, Chile, England, Hong Kong, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Spain

• 2016 – Tianjin, China (six teams)
  • Winner: Hong Kong
  • Runner up: England
  • Other teams: Chile (third), Argentina (fourth), Canada, France

• 2017 – Tianjin, China (six teams)
  • Winner: Argentina
  • Runner-up: Hong Kong
  • Other teams: South Africa (third), England (fourth), Australia, US

FIP Super Nations Cup

With four professional teams from the world's leading polo nations, the 24-goal tournament has been held at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.

• 2012
  • Winner: Argentina
  • Runner-up: US
  • Third place: Hong Kong

• 2013
  • Winner: Hong Kong
  • Runner-up: England
  • Third place: US
  • Fourth place: Argentina

• 2014
  • Winner: Hong Kong
  • Runner-up: England
  • Third place: US
  • Fourth place: Argentina

Ambassador's Cup

FIP ambassadors are liaisons between the federation and individual countries. They represent the FIP's goals and objectives in his or her own country and work on behalf of the federation in other countries. An ambassador is asked to reach specific goals set by the FIP president, and are expected to support all FIP events with time, effort and horses. FIP ambassadors were created when the federation was founded to promote it in their own polo association and increase interest in the sport.

Nineteen countries signed up within a few years of FIP's founding, with ten more provisional members. The main vehicle for recruiting new member countries was a series of tournaments which became known as Ambassador's Cups. The tournaments originated as competition for FIP members and collaborators to engage them in the sport beyond the organizational realm and play polo in different parts of the world. One of the first Ambassador's Cups was held in Moscow to revive the sport, which had been abolished during the Russian Revolution in 1918. The tournament was played in a circus tent, since there were no fields.

Ambassador's Cup

Edition	Date	City	Region/State	Country	Teams
1	November 1987	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Unknown
2	January 1988	Santiago		Chile	5
3	April 1988	Palm Springs	California	US	7
4	1988	Palm Beach	Florida	US	8
5	March 1989	Santiago		Chile	12
6	October 1989	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	4
7	March 1990	Sydney	New South Wales	Australia	8
8	October 1990	Unknown	Unknown	Brazil	30
9	November 1990	Buenos Aires	Buenos AIres	Argentina	16
10	April 1991	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	8
11	November 1991	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
12	April 1992	Unknown	Unknown	Brazil	16
13	November 1992	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
14	April 1993	Mexico City	Mexico City	Mexico	14
15	August 1993	Unknown	Unknown	Zimbabwe	16
16	September 1993	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Unknown
17	November 1993	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	19
18	April 1994	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	8
19	May 1994	Unknown	Unknown	Brazil	28
20	November 1994	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	16
21	November 1994	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	16
22	February 1995	Lahore	Punjab	Pakistan	4
23	February 1995	Costa Careyes	Jalisco	Mexico	6
24	April 1995	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	8
25	August 1995	Unknown	England	United Kingdom	6
26	September 1995	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	8
27	November 1995	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	16
28	January 1996	San José	San José Province	Costa Rica	8
29	March 1996	Lake Worth	Florida	US	9
30	October 1996	Jaipur	Rajasthan	India	Unknown
31	November 1996	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	10
32	February 1997	Santiago		Chile	16
33	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
34	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
35	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
36	October 1998	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Unknown
37	April 1999	Chantilly	Hauts-de-France	France	14
38	October 1999	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	8
39	February 2000	Punta del Este	Maldonado	Uruguay	4
40	April 2000	Casa de Campo	La Romana	Dominican Republic	12
41	2000	Unknown	Unknown	Spain	Unknown
42	November 2000	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	4
43	September 2001	Johannesburg	Gauteng	South Africa	Unknown
44	November 2001	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	16
45	April 2002	Mexico City	Mexico City	Mexico	Unknown
46	November 2002	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Unknown
47	September 2003	Chantilly	Hauts-de-France	France	Unknown
48	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
49	December 2003	Bariloche	Río Negro	Argentina	8
50	June 2004	Indaiatuba	São Paulo	Brazil	Unknown
51	October 2004	Buenos Aires	Buneos Aires	Argentina	9
52	May 2005	Sotogrande	Andalusia	Spain	12
53	September 2005	Berlin	Berlin	Germany	8
54	November 2005	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	10
55	March 2006	New Delhi	Delhi	India	7
56	August 2006	Ulaanbaatar	Ulaanbaatar	Mongolia	4
57	September 2006	Aiken	South Carolina	US	4
58	December 2006	Salta	Salta	Argentina	10
59	April 2007	Orlândia	São Paulo	Brazil	10
60	June 2007	Unknown	England	United Kingdom	8
61	November 2007	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	24
62	September 2008	New York	New York	US	8
63	September 2008	Teheran	Ostān-e-Tehrān	Iran	4
64	November 2008	Lima	Lima Province	Peru	4
65	November 2008	Mar del Plata	Buenos Aires Province	Argentina	8
66	March 2009	Sydney	New South Wales	Australia	Unknown
67	April 2009	Kuala Lumpur	Wilayah Persekutuan	Malaysia	4
68	September 2009	Siena	Toscana	Italy	Unknown
69	November 2009	Quito	Pichincha Province	Ecuador	Unknown
70	November 2009	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Unknown
71	September 2010	Unknown	New York State	US	8
72	September 2010	Lima	Lima Province	Peru	Unknown
73	November 2010	San Luis	San Luis	Argentina	8
74	February 2011	Costa Careyes	Jalisco	Mexico	4
75	November 2011	Santiago		Chile	Unknown
76	March 2012	New Delhi	Delhi	India	6
77	April 2012	Palm Beach	Florida	US	8
78	November 2012	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
79	April 2013	Palm Beach	Florida	US	6
80	September 2013	Rome	Lazio	Italy	5
81	November 2013	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
82	April 2014	Palm Beach	Florida	US	6
83	June 2014	Teheran	Ostān-e-Tehrān	Iran	8
84	September 2014	Rome	Lazio	Italy	6
85	November 2014	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	16
86	September 2015	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada	6
87	October 2015	Rome	Lazio	Italy	4
88	November 2015	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
89	April 2016	Port Mayaca	Florida	US	8
90	July 2016	London	England	United Kingdom	6
91	September 2016	Rome	Lazio	Italy	6
92	December 2016	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
93	May 2017	Santa Barbara	California	US	6
94	April 2017	Courances	Île-de-France	France	6
95	September 2017	Rome	Lazio	Italy	Unknown
96	November 2017	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Unknown
97	April 2018	Unknown	Unknown	US	8
98	May 2018	Santiago de Querétaro	Querétaro	Mexico	8
99	July 2018	Rome	Lazio	Italy	12
100	September 2018	Indaiatuba	São Paulo	Brazil	20
101	December 2018	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	Argentina	12
102	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
103	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
104	October 2019	Lahore	Punjab	Pakistan	6
105	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
106	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
107	November 2021	Unknown	Unknown	Argentina	Unknown
108	February 2022	Punta del Este	Maldonado	Uruguay	4
109	August 2022	Asunción	Asunción	Paraguay	8

Women's Nations Cup

The Women's Nations Cup was played from 12 to 16 December 2021 in Argentina. Three teams participated: Argentina, England and the US. The tournament was played with a 16-22 handicap at Palermo Polo Fields.

Rosters:

• England (21):
  • Georgie Cunningham (0)
  • Steph Haverhals (4)
  • Milly Hine (7)
  • Hazel Jackson (10)

• US (21):
  • Cecelia Cochran (5)
  • Dawn Jones (6)
  • Meghan Gracida (3)
  • Hope Arellano (7)

• Argentina (22):
  • Lia Salvo (10)
  • Milagros Sanchez (7)
  • Azucena Uranga (5)
  • Paulina Vasquetto (0)

See also

In Spanish: Federación Internacional de Polo para niños

• World Polo Championship
• Horseball
• Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations
• International Chovgan Federation (IGF) for Chovgan established in 2 February 2024