The 18-goal event – one of the highest handicap tournaments in the region – will run from Friday, March 18 to Saturday, April 2 at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club, a new equestrian centre currently under construction in DubaiLand.
Organisers hope the introduction of the new tournament, named in honour of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, would add a new dimension to the Championship and build on the success of the series.
“No words can describe our happiness with the introduction of the tournament,” said founder Mohammed Al Habtoor. “Our ambition has no limits.”
Al Habtoor thanked HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed for his ongoing support of the ‘Sport of Kings’, and said the growth of polo in the Dubai was down to the patrons, teams and supporters.
“We have all played a key role in the growth of Polo in Dubai. The city is now well and truly on the global polo circuit, which is a great source of pride for us all,” he said.
“Each year the Dubai Gold Cup Series gets better and better attracting more teams and more players from the region and around the world. We are really pleased with its continued success.
“The introduction of new tournaments, like the HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Polo Cup, has been welcomed by everyone. This motivates us even further.”
Al Habtoor, who is head of the organising committee, confirmed that work is underway to extend the polo season in the United Arab Emirates to nine months.
The patron of the Habtoor Polo Team founded the Dubai Gold Cup Series in 2009, and since then it has grown in tandem with the city of Dubai.
Today it is one of the highest handicap events in the Middle East and the fourth largest tournament of its kind after Argentina, the US and the UK.
The Dubai Open is split into two tournaments: the McLaren Silver Cup and the Julius Baer Gold Cup and played under the banner of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA).
It attracts polo stars from around the world, VIPs, society figures as well as senior corporate executives from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).