ACCESS BANK DAY DELIVERS RETURNS ON AND OFF THE FIELD PLAY

THE VIBRANT ACCESS BANK DAY made a wonderful return to Guards Polo Club in early July, once again delivering some fabulous fundraising accompanied by plenty of polo. The COVID-19 pandemic had forced the Club’s banking partner to postpone their hugely popular annual event for two successive years, so the 2022 Access Bank Day was particularly important.

The Access Bank Cup, which traditionally mixes patrons and some of the biggest names of the game currently playing in the UK, delivered a win for Access Bank Plc. They defeated Fifth Chukker 6-5 on The Queen’s Ground. Ali Albwardy, founder of the Desert Palm Polo Club in Dubai and patron of the

Dubai high-goal team, stepped forward to receive the trophy from HH The 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi, Lamide Sanusi and HRH The Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed N Bamalli.

Ali, who had scored the majority of his team’s goals, also received the Best Playing Pony prize for Jasmine, whom he had played in the first and third chukkas. Ali’s teammate, and Access Bank Day regular, Adamu Atta was also impressive in this match, delivering some strong runs to goal.

The Most Valuable Player prize though went to Fifth Chukker’s Ryk Neethling. Ryk only took up the sport in lockdown but put in a sterling performance in this match. His sporting prowess should not be a surprise though as this South African is an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer!

Juan Martin Nero, Santi Cernadas, Barto Castagnola and Guillermo Terrera brought plenty of pace to the game but this was as much about having fun with friends as playing to win.

The first match of the day was played under a similar vibe and was a contest featuring Malcomines and Delaney for the Khalifa Cup. Damian Duncan’s Delaney team won this match 7-6 thanks to a winning goal off the stick of Marcos Araya in the final 30 seconds of the game. Damian was delighted to be named the Most Valuable Player in the post-match presentations which also included Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive Officer of The Access Corporation Plc, Dr Ajoritsedere Awosika, Chairman Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Director of Access Bank Plc and Bababode Osunkoya, Chairman of The Access Corporation Plc.

However, the biggest winner on the day once again was UNICEF. Access Bank Plc guests were so generous with their pledges that more than $1.7 million was raised during the afternoon. This money will go towards a raft of more than 100 new and equipped classroom blocks in the disadvantaged areas of Nigeria, another part of Access Bank Plc/ Fifth Chukker’s impressive fundraising initiatives across Africa. ✸

The Teams

ACCESS BANK CUP Access Bank: Ali Albwardy (0); Santiago Cernadas (7); Juan Martin Nero (9); Adamu Mahmoud Atta (2). Fifth Chukker: Ryk Neethling (0); Manuel Perez Altuna (2); Bartolome Castagnola Jnr (9); Guillermo Terrera (7).

KHALIFA CUP Delaney: Damian Duncan (0); Rufino Merlos (1); Agustin Merlos (7); Marcos Araya (7). Malcomines: Murtala Laushi (1); Shamsuddeen Dahiru Mangal (1); Diego White (5); Alejo Aramburu (6).