New Delhi (PTI): In a first of its kind, India will take on the United States in a polo match at the National Mall in Washington DC in June next year.

A four-member Indian team will play the match against the US team in a tournament named The Land Rover America's Polo Cup.

The association of both the countries in polo ground will continue with the US team scheduled to visit India in 2011 for another official match.

The event, seen as an initiative to strengthen sports and cultural relations between the two countries, was formally announced here today on the occasion of United States' 233rd Independence Day.

"It is going to be a symbolic event and should go a long way in developing not only a healthy sporting relationship but also a sound cultural link between India and the US," said US Charge d'Affaires to India, Peter Burleigh.

The US polo team skipper Tareq Salahi said, "Something like this has never happened on an official level before and we are privileged to invite India to play a polo match knowing well they are one of the super-powers of this sport."

The four-member Indian team will be selected later this year by the Indian Polo Association.