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28. August 2023
Polo Club Düsseldorf
Polo teams from eight nations will come to the Polo
Club Düsseldorf with over 200 horses for the XIV FIP European Polo Championship
from September 1 to 10 to play for the coveted title. The team line-ups of the national
teams promise an exciting European Polo Championship 2023.
Defending champion and reigning European champion is Italy. Furthermore, teams from
England, Spain, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Germany will
play for the title for ten days. For the grand final weekend on September 9 and 10, the Polo
Club Düsseldorf expects many hundreds of spectators, representatives of the Polo World
Federation FIP as well as the German Polo Association.
On Thursday, August 31, at 6 p.m. the official team presentation with all nations and players,
officials, sponsors and organizers will take place at Les Halles / Böhler Werke in Hansaallee
321, Düsseldorf. Here the teams will be introduced and the jerseys for the tournament days
will be handed over. Global sports-inspired brand U.S. Polo Assn. will once again provide all
team jerseys as the official apparel partner of FIP and the European Polo Championships.
The preliminary and qualifying matches of the XIV FIP European Polo Championship will
start on Friday, 01 September 2023, with two matches scheduled daily from 10:30 am to
approximately 1 p.m. Admission to the spectator area is free of charge on these days.
Game-free days for horse recovery are on Monday 04.09. and Friday 08.09.2023.
On the final weekend 09 and 10 September, games start at 12 a.m. and admission to the
spectator area costs 30 euros. Tickets for the large VIP area including gourmet catering, all
drinks and the best view of the polo fields are available for 250 euros and can be booked
online via the Polo Club Düsseldorf website.
Otto Blank, President of the Polo Club Düsseldorf: “Only a few days to go until the kick-off of
the FIP European Polo Championship – the preparations here at the Polo Club Düsseldorf
are in full swing and the anticipation for this top-class, international event could not be
greater. It means a lot to the team from the Polo Club Düsseldorf to be able to host the 14th
European Championship at the Düsseldorf location. We have the very best conditions here,
the fields are in top shape and we expect fast and absolutely exciting matches. I wish all
participants, players and guests great and thrilling polo days and look forward to welcoming
the European polo elite to Düsseldorf.”
Piero Dillier, President of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) since December 2022:
“FIP tournaments such as the World and European Polo Championships are held under our
direction in cooperation with the respective national polo associations, which in turn award
the tournament to a host club and act as patron. In the future, we will also be making
intensive efforts to outsource such major events to other regions of the world, such as Africa
and the Middle East. There, the logistical and organizational options are more difficult to
handle. But we want to involve these countries more and thus also make it clear to them why
membership in the FIP is valuable. Many thanks to Otto Blank and the Polo Club Düsseldorf,
for their commitment to the 2023 European Polo Championship.”
Oliver Winter, President of the German Polo Association (DPV): “For the third time, Germany
is hosting the FIP European Polo Championship this year, after 2008 and 2016. The Polo
Club Düsseldorf is one of the most beautiful clubs in the country and we thank Otto Blank
and his family for their great commitment. Besides the organizing Federation of International
Polo (FIP), the German Polo Association (DPV) is the patron of this European
Championship. The DPV has just celebrated its 50th anniversary and 125 years of polo in
Germany, so it is sensational to now be able to host the 14th European Championship.”
Polo commentator Jan-Erik Franck, known to international audiences as ‘The Voice of Polo’:
“I am very pleased that the XIV FIP European Polo Championship 2023 will be held in my
hometown of Düsseldorf. I already had the honor of hosting the Arena Polo European
Championship in Baku/Azerbaijan in 2015 and am now excited about the eight national
teams. The field of participants is relatively balanced and we should see very exciting
matches already in the qualification rounds. I think Team Germany has a good chance,
Azerbaijan is also one of the favorites. England and Spain, along with defending champions
Italy, have always been good for a very strong performance at international tournaments in
the past.”
Teams XIV. FIP Polo European Championship 2023
Team Azerbaijan +8
Tarlan Gurbanaliyev 0
Elchin Jamalli +2
Joaquin Copello +3
Andres Fernandez Llorente +3
Greatest EC success: 1x 2nd place 2018
Team captain Elchin Jamalli from Baku finished second in the 2018 European
Championships with the Azerbaijan national team and was already a winner at the Snow
Polo World Cup in St. Moritz. Copello and Llorente are experienced professionals with both
long and successful polo careers in Europe.
Team Austria +6
Walter Scherb 0
Diego Braun +3
Martin Bleier +3
Jakob Von Plessen 0
Greatest EC success: 2x 2nd place in 2012 and 2021
Walter Scherb is an Austrian polo legend and has been a successful team captain for many
years. His team was a finalist at the 2021 European Championship in Sotogrande and
finished second, only one goal behind. At the Arena European Championship in Baku,
Scherb, Braun and Bleier won the gold medal in the same year.
Team England +8
Sally Turner 0
Fred Thame +2
Hector Worsley +3
David Ashby +3
Greatest EC success: 6x 1st place 1993-1999, 2008, 2014, 1x 2nd place 2005, 1x 3rd place
2010
England is one of the top nations in international polo and is unchallenged in the ranking of
European Championship victories with six title wins. This year England will again compete
with a team that is as strong as it is interesting.
Team Spain +8
Joaquin Castellvi 0
Manuel Lopez +2
Luis Domecq +3
Mario Gomez +3
Host of the European Championship 2021 in Sotogrande
Greatest EC success: 1x 1st place 2012, 1x 2nd place 2010, 1x 3rd place 2021
In Sotogrande, Spain, the last European Polo Championship took place in 2021. Now the
long-time national players and reigning FIP World Champions Manuel Lopez and Luis
Domecq are coming to Düsseldorf. A top team from one of the great polo nations in Europe.
Team Germany +7/+8
Paul Grabosch +3
Anton Grabosch +3
Emil Grabosch / Michl Grabosch +2/+1
Kim Grabosch 0
Host of the European Championship 2008 Hamburg/Gut Aspern, 2016 Berlin Maifeld
Greatest EC success: 1x 2nd place 1995, 2x 3rd place 1999, 2016
The four brothers Paul, Anton, Emil and Michl Grabosch start together with father Kim as the
German national team in this European Championship. The family team from southern
Germany is stationed with its horses in Chantilly, France, among other places.
Team Italy +8
Stefano Giansanti +1
Giordano Magini +2
Goffredo Cutinelli Rendina +3
Edoardo Ferrari +2
Host of the European Championship 1997 Milan, 2002 Rome, 2018 Villa a Sesta
Greatest EC success: 3x 1st place 2005, 2018, 2021 – defending champion, 2x 2nd place
1993, 1997
Team Italy is the defending champion and comes with a mixture of very experienced and
young, highly talented professionals from the Polo Club Rome to the European
Championships in Germany. With Cutinelli Rendina and Giordano “Giordy” Magini, who has
been stationed in Germany in recent years, Italy is sending two of its best players to the
tournament.
Team Netherlands +7
Boudewijn Brouns +1
Alexander van Andel +2
Robert Watson +4
Milan Venkata Raman +1
Host of the European Championship 2005 Vreeland
Greatest EC success:1x 2nd place 2002, 1x 3rd place 2005
Alexander “Aki” van Andel is one of the best-known players in the Netherlands. Together
with the native New Zealander Robert Watson as an accomplished player and the talents
Brouns and Raman, the team has already proven its skills at the European Championship in
Sotogrande. Brouns and Raman won the prestigious Polo Picnic in Münster at the end of
July.
Team Switzerland +7
Luca Meier +1
Juan Soldati +3
Tito Gaudenzi +2
Fabio Meier +1
Organizer of the European Championship 1993 St. Moritz
Biggest EM success: 2x 3rd place 1993, 1995
The two brothers Luca and Fabio Meier come from one of the most famous polo families in
Switzerland. They have their own polo farm in Argentina and have already played the Rider’s
Cup in St. Tropez this summer. Together with the internationally successful professional and
polo organizer Tito Gaudenzi as well as young talent Juan Soldati, exciting power play can
be expected here.