Team Afreximbank this evening walked away with a winning trophy at the El Gouna Beach Polo Bruggler Silver Cup Championship held in El Gouna, Egypt, defeating Team Bruggler in an exciting match on a sun-splashed day at the Red Sea resort town.
Led by Argentine player Marcelo Pascual, the three-person Team Afreximbank demolished their Team Bruggler opponents 6-4 in six chukkas, or play periods, to take away the third place trophy of the four-day international tournament.
In addition to Pascual, a 6 handicap player, Team Afreximbank included Mostafa Kabany, a -1 handicap player from Egypt, and Ramzy Loza, a zero handicap player, also from Egypt.
The Afreximbank delegation with Team Afreximbank trophies: Kanayo Awani, Managing Director, Intra-African Trade Initiative; flanked by Obi Emekekwue, Head of Communications (right), and Ayman El Zogby of the Intra-African Trade Initiative
The tournament, the first-ever beach polo tournament to be played in Egypt, featured six teams playing over the four days. Each team bore the name of the organization that sponsored it and played in branded trunks with the logo of that organization.
In the final game, Team BMW beat Team Orange to lift the tournament championship.
Kanayo Awani, Managing Director, Intra-African Trade Initiative at Afreximbank, joined Maj.-Gen. Ahmed Abdullah, Governor of Red Sea State, and Farouk Younes, Chairman of the Egyptian Polo Federation, in presenting the trophy to Team Afreximbank.
The tournament witnessed attendance by many captains of industry from Egypt and many other African countries.
Afreximbank, which operated an exhibition booth at the tournament, took advantage of the opportunity to present its programmes and facilities to the business leaders, with particular emphasis on the intra-African Trade Strategy and the newly developed Intra-African Trade Champions Programme.
Joining Ms. Awani at the tournament from Afreximbank were Obi Emekekwue, Head of Communications, and Ayman El Zogby of the Intra-African Trade Initiative.
The Afreximbank delegation with Team Afreximbank: (L-R) Mostafa Kabany; Kanayo Awani, Managing Director, Intra-African Trade Initiative; Marcelo Pascual; Obi Emekekwue, Head of Communications; Ayman El Zogby of the Intra-African Trade Initiative; and Ramzy Loza