Dubai: Organisers and sponsors have hailed the evolution and growth of the annual Beach Polo Cup Dubai.

Founded in 2004, this weekend will witness the 12th edition of the tournament that has become a regular feature on the domestic sports scene.

This year’s tournament, to be held at a specially installed pitch at Skydive Dubai, is once again being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council (DSC).

And with polo patrons such as the Al Habtoor brothers busy with the ongoing Dubai Polo Gold Cup, organisers have roped in an international field to further spread the reach of the event.

There are four teams involved — led by an all-foreign players side of Piero Dillier (Switzerland), Marcus Schalldach (Brazil), Bruce Colley (USA) and Lucas Labbat (Argentina) representing Qatar Airways.

Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, DSC pointed out that beach polo has provided an enduring legacy for Dubai’s capacity to create and host world-class sporting events.

“Dubai has established an international reputation as a world-class sporting destination by hosting a year-round calendar of major international sporting events covering a wide number of team and individual sports. While these imports have proven crucial in putting Dubai on the global sporting map, home-grown events such as the Beach Polo Cup Dubai prove that we are just as capable of conceiving and delivering world-class events of our own,” Hareb said.

Cadillac, one of the major sponsors of the event for the past couple of years, was pleased with the evolution of the tournament. “We have seen the growth of this tournament. Today it is bigger and better and we expect it to grow even further because of its dynamic nature and the passion and skill on the part of the players involved,” Felix Weeler, Managing Director, Cadillac Middle East, said.

Sam Katiela, Managing and Creative Director, Mamemo Productions, disclosed that last year’s event had a media value in excess of Dh62 million, while also making a social media impression of more than 49 million across the world.

“For all practical reasons, this is the final polo competition of the season here. When we started this event we always wanted it to be international, and this year we have managed to have this fulfilled with the new team representing Qatar Airways,” Katiela said.

“Our target is 2020 as want to have a beach polo World Cup that will eventually have a very international flair,” added Gabriela Katiela, event and tournament director.

Tickets are available for both days at www.platinumlist.net. Entry to the Shams Zone is Dh95 per person per day or Dh145 for both days.