The 67th FIP Ambassadors Cup polo tournament was a great success.  It featured Malaysia’s polo heritage and love for this wonderful sport. Malaysians love their polo.  This was apparent to the FIP Ambassadors throughout the tour.

Most of the Ambassadors were here for 8 or 9 days.  During that time, they played at the Royal Pahang Polo Club, Putrajaya Equestrian Park and Royal Selangor Polo Club.   They also visited Bukit Kiara, Ranhill-Tanamera, Central Market, Petaling Street, the Lanchang Elephant Sanctuary and III Lounge.

It’s a tour that gave me some sleepless nights in the run-up to it as the RMPA so wanted to impress the FIP Ambassadors.  I had been in touch with FIP Ambassador Peter Prendiville of Western Australia as far back as 2003 to see how we could bring Malaysia back to the FIP fold.   Malaysia had then been a member of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) but not the Federation of International Polo (FIP).  FIP was a new organisation compared to the HPA as FIP was only formed in 1982.  It took till 2007 for Malaysia to become FIP members.

During the FIP Ambassadors Cup, the FIP Ambassadors encouraged Malaysia to bid to host the Zone D qualifier of the FIP Polo World Cup.   It’s a huge group, spanning all of Asia including the Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  If you think about it geographically, it is half the world.  In reality there are perhaps only eight countries in this mega-zone that can play at FIP World Cup level.  It is still a huge undertaking to host such a prestigious tournament, and one that is not to be taken lightly.

Encouraged by the visiting Ambassadors, the President of the RMPA, HRH Tengku Mahkota Pahang, with the backing of his committee has taken the first step to launch Malaysia’s bid to host the 2011 Zone D FIP Polo World Cup Qualifier.

If we do it well, can we dream of bringing the 2016 FIP Polo World Cup Final to Malaysia?

In getting to dream that dream, the 67th FIP Ambassadors Cup had to happen.   It was the culmination work that Peter Prendiville and I put in, off and on, over the last six years.  In the last two years, FIP Ambassador Asad Jumabhoy has been invaluable in guiding Malaysia back to the FIP fold.  Dato’ Mohamed Moiz, Asad and I were best buddies back in the 70’s when we rode and played polo for Singapore.  In many ways Asad was my closest friend till it was time to go to university.  Working with him to organise the 67th FIP Ambassadors Cup has been delightful because, after many decades in the wilderness, I have my old friend back again.

As life goes on, I think we never try hard enough to stay in contact with our best friends because we politely think we are a disturbance.  Worse, we are sometimes guilty of alienating even our best friends.  I know I was guilty.

But Polo brings you back.

So it was a case of the Bleck Boys organising then 67th FIP Ambassadors Cup in Malaysia, and in the process refinding old friends.    Some that are truly best friends, and some that are new old friends.  Polo players have a camaraderie that only aficionados understand.

They say once you’ve been bitten by the polo bug there is no turning back.  The game of kings is truly the king of games.  As the American FIP Ambassador Bruce Colley remarked to me, “You only quit polo when you die.”

May friendships be as lasting.