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TA L K
M ATA I A S C A LL E J O / X P L
17
The particulars: the league welcomes teams
between 28- and 34-goals; a maximum of two
10-goalers are allowed per team; a total of 10
horses per player, per match is permitted, and
players must have a minimum handicap of
four goals.The rule limiting the number of
horses has been included in a bid to lower the
costs of polo and make the sport more
inclusive, while the four-goal handicap
minimumwill ensure that every player on the
field is a professional dedicated to the sport.
This is not a league for amateurs. Over
the past few years other individuals have
worked to form a wholly professional league,
most notably Javier Tanoira and the All Pro
Polo League, but the XPL has taken the
concept of professionalism and merged it
with an economic model that promises not
T H E MO D E L P R OM I S E S N O T O N LY T O
M A K E T H I S P R O J E C T S U S TA I N A B L E ,
B U T A L S O T O M A K E I T P R O F I TA B L E
Opposite: Standing from left
:
Alfredo Cappella
Barabucci, Eduardo Novillo
Astrada, Juan Zavalia
Paunero, Felipe de Stefani,
Mariano Aguerre.
Kneeling
from left:
Juan M Zavaleta,
Facundo Pieres, Guillermo
Caset, Miguel Novillo
Astrada.
This page, from left:
Miguel Novillo Astrada and
Valerio Zubiaurre in action
only to make this project sustainable, but
also to make it profitable.
Currently, the XPL event in Argentina is the
main focus, but the league is busy fixing the
dates for the 2020 calendar.The year will kick
off with an event in PalmBeach in April;action
will then continue in England, France, and
hopefully Spain. In the first year, each team
must commit to two events – one in Argentina
and one in another country.The stakes are
raised in 2021, when teams must compete in
three XPL tournaments. Every polo fan dreams
of experiencing the buzz, beauty, and
heart-thumping thrill implicit in high-goal polo
– now, thanks to the XPL, spectators around
the world will be one step closer to the action.
Buckle up, sports fans, this is going to
be a wild ride.
