21 December 2021 Lausanne, Switzerland: Will it won’t it? Will it won’t it? Whether sports events were going ahead or not during 2021 was the most common question among athletes, coaching staff, volunteers and fans. Despite the uncertainty that gripped the world, teams continued to prepare, volunteers continued to offer their services and fans continued to hope that they would get the chance to watch, support, cheer and celebrate. And by a combination of determination, incredible attention to detail, superb organisation and a collective willingness, the greatest sports show on earth did get its day in the sun. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 finally burst into life 12 months later than originally scheduled but with the same verve, energy and excellence of any previous Games. It was also a common observation that this Games was more emotional than any previous one, simply because everyone was so relieved that they could finally get to compete. And it was glorious. Belgium men and Netherlands women came away with gold medals after displays of sheer excellence. The final between Australia and Belgium men will long be remembered as one of the most dramatic endings to a competition, while the Netherlands women swept to victory against Argentina at the end of a campaign that sealed their position as one of the best teams – in any sport – in the world. It was not all about the winners. South Africa men dazzled us with their skill and creativity; India men and women’s teams showed how a nation’s support could be ignited by a performance; the host nation showed how an army of volunteers could make even an empty stadium a warm, welcoming and exciting place to be. The other major international event to take place was the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar. It was an event where new heroes stepped forth, not least the Player of the Tournament Timothee Clement of France and goal-scoring machine Miles Bukkens of the Netherlands. But it was the junior men of Argentina, led by former international and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Lucas Rey who stole the show. They out-played the hitherto excellent German team to win the title and become another chapter in Argentina’s hockey success story. The third season of the FIH Hockey Pro League also got under way with some European teams able to get the competition started. Netherlands women continued where they finished season two – winning their matches against Belgium and Germany – and introducing a number of new players to their roster. Belgium men had mixed fortunes. They had a glorious opening encounter with Germany, winning both matches in dazzling style. They then met the rejuvenated Netherlands under new Head Coach Jerome Delmee. The Dutch won and gave a glimpse of an exciting new era for the men in orange. The FIH Hockey Pro League continues in February with new teams taking their place in the competition – for this season only. Spain and India women’s national teams and Canada and South Africa men will be new names on the fixture list and the hockey world cannot fail to be excited to see these teams in action on a regular basis. Looking ahead to the first part of 2022, the top quality action gets underway in Liège, Belgium, with the sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup. The event is always a great spectacle and introduces new players and teams to hockey fans. Among the teams appearing in Liège will be Kazakhstan, Namibia, Iran, Ukraine and the Czech Republic, each displaying their own style of hockey. A launch event for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Belgium 2022 took place in September, with FIH CEO Thierry Weil, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Minister Valérie Glatigny, Liège Province Vice-President Katty Firquet, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Administration General Manager Alain Laitat and Royal Belgian Hockey Association President Patrick Keusters all in attendance. The event runs from 2 February to 6 February. Despite some international hockey action taking place, much has also been disrupted or cancelled due to the global pandemic. The Junior Women’s World Cup in South Africa was a casualty, although FIH has confirmed that everything will be done so that the event takes place in 2022. Australia and New Zealand have seen all their international involvement curtailed due to Covid-related travel restrictions. These restrictions have not stopped online hockey activity; the use of which has sped up and proliferated during the pandemic. The #HockeyInvites Year of the Youth initiative, created and organised by the FIH Academy, saw numerous projects launched, with the aim of inspiring the next generation of athletes, coaches, officials and leaders. Among the projects launched were FIH World Hockey Camps, the FIH Academy Young Leader Membership and a #HockeyInvites Year of the Youth programme where young, aspiring hockey players from around the world were able to link up with athletes and coaches to remain engaged with the game and to develop their understanding and performance. Meanwhile, also utilising online facilities to bring people together to share ideas was the programme of FIH Gender Equality Workshops. An opening webinar introducing the theme and starting a conversation was held in the early part of 2021 and from that launch point, webinars have been held by the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF), the African Hockey Federation (AfHF) and the European Hockey Federation (EHF). Each webinar unearthed different gender issues and set in motion plans to make important, progressive changes. 2021 was the year when the spotlight was thrown on every organisation’s environmental impact and sustainability strategies. The creation of the FIH Sustainability Task Force in March is an important step for hockey in this regard. Working with its partner Polytan and its Preferred Suppliers, the FIH will endeavour to ensure its environmental footprint is as small as possible. The delivery of climate positive turfs for Tokyo 2020 was one example of the progressive work being carried out in this area. One of the pillars of FIH strategy

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8 December 2021 Lausanne, Switzerland: Meeting today virtually for the last time of the year, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) approved the participation of South Africa and Canada in the third edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Pro League. As informed earlier, this participation is temporary and limited to this edition only. Both teams replace Australia and New Zealand, who had to pull out of the current season due to COVID-related international travel constraints. “It’s great that both South Africa and Canada are joining the FIH Hockey Pro League. Both teams are the first ones from Africa and North America to join the Men’s League, which is excellent for the growth and globalisation of hockey”, FIH CEO Thierry Weil commented. The first Pro League matches of the year in 2022 will involve the Women’s teams of China and India. They will take place on 31 January – 1 February in Thailand, where both teams will be to play the Women’s Asia Cup 2022. The current match schedule of this Pro League season is available here. Furthermore, the EB members extended congratulations and thanks to Hockey India for their outstanding work in hosting a magnificent FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021. Regarding the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup South Africa 2021, which was initially scheduled for this month but had to be put “on hold” because of the Omicron variant outbreak, the EB has decided that this event should be postponed and that South Africa should have priority for hosting it. The EB also expressed thanks to the organisers – both the South African Hockey Association and the North-West University of Potchefstroom – for their intense preparations. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. 

5 December 2021 Day 11: Lautaro Domene scored a hat-trick of penalty corners to help Argentina become men’s Junior World Cup champions for the second time in their history, beating Germany 4-2 in a superb competition final in Bhubaneswar.  Domene’s achievement was made more remarkable by the fact that Argentina won just three penalty corners in the entire match, with the drag-flicker finishing with a 100 percent conversion rate as his team added a second men’s Junior World Cup title to the one claimed in Rotterdam in 2005.  The result ended Germany’s quest for a seventh men’s Junior World Cup title and brought the curtain down on a superb competition at the Kalinga Stadium.  Earlier in the day, France – inspired by Player of the Tournament Timothée Clément – defeated India to claim the bronze medal while Netherlands and Spain were respective winners over Belgium and Malaysia in the 5-6 and 7-8 classification matches.  More details of all today’s matches, as well as final standings and the competition award winners, can be found below. 1st – 2nd Place: Germany 2-4 Argentina  In a magnificent contest, Argentina produced the most clinical of displays to overcome the six times champions, with a perfect penalty corner conversion record and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Nehuen Hernando proving vital. Lautaro Domene netted penalty corner drag-flicks in each of the first two quarters, leaving Germany with a mountain to climb in the remaining 30 minutes. And climb it they did, with Julius Heyner – earlier given a 10-minute yellow card suspension for a coming together with Argentina’s Joaquin Toscani – firing home from close range before Masi Phandt’s deflected penalty corner effort rocketed into the roof of Hernando’s goal with 13 minutes remaining. However, Domene made it three penalty corner conversions from three attempts in the 50th minute before Hernando pulled off some astonishing saves to deny Germany another equaliser. Argentina sealed their second men’s Junior World Cup title when Franco Agostini fired into an empty net in the final minute, with Germany having replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player in a final attempt to salvage the situation.  “We cannot explain our feelings in this moment”, said a delighted Lautaro Domene, the Player of the Match, after the contest. “It is difficult to know what we are thinking. We knew that this team could do it. We played together, as we have done in the other games. We committed as a team, and that is the most important thing. It is a craziness that we cannot explain, what it is to win this tournament. It’s beautiful, and we are very proud of this team.”  Germany captain Hannes Muller said: “First of all, congratulations to Argentina for their win. I think the first half was not good for us. Too many technical mistakes, not enough pressure on the ball. The second half was a little bit better but, in the end, we lost the final. At this moment it’s hard to understand that.”  3rd – 4th Place: India 1-3 France France captain Timothée Clément netted his fourth hat-trick in six matches at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, firing his team to the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over host nation India. The home side dominated the early stages and even managed to hit the post, but France grew into the contest and edged ahead four minutes before half time thanks to Clément’s superb penalty corner drag-flick. Clément netted another penalty corner early in the third quarter, but India hit back through Sudeep Chirmako’s brilliant reverse scooped finish to leave give his team hope in the latter stages. It was Clément however, who would have the final say, with his deflected fourth quarter penalty corner effort completing his personal treble and securing a superb bronze medal for this hugely gifted young French team.  “What an emotion!”, said France captain Timothée Clément, who was named Player of the Match. “Two days ago, it was very difficult to lose in the semi-final. It was very important to finish like this. We have a bronze medal. It’s just amazing! And this team is perfect. Wow! We are very happy for French hockey. The future generation is here and I think we have a really, really great future!” India’s Vivek Sagar Prasad said: “It was a really good match, a very close one. Congratulations to the French team! We’re very disappointed. As players, we will all work to improve in the future.” 5th – 6th Place: Belgium 4-6 Netherlands The Low Countries derby battle for fifth position went the way of the Netherlands, who earned a 6-4 victory against Belgium. The Netherlands raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Miles Bukkens (2) and Brent van Bijnen before Belgium hit back through Thibault Deplus. Bukkens completed his hat-trick just before half time to take the score to 4-1, but two goals in three third quarter minutes from Roman Duvekot pulled the Belgians to within one goal of their opponents. However, strikes from Guus Jansen and Casper van der Veen sealed the win for the Netherlands, with Belgium’s Jeff de Winter scoring the final goal of a thrilling match eight minutes from full time.  “We had a good game plan, We started really well and scored four goals”, said Guus Jansen, the Player of the Match. “In the first part of the second half, we lost it a bit but with the good work of the whole team we managed to take the win home. That’s a great feeling. Overall, it’s a little shame that we didn’t finish first. That’s what we came for. But after all, we won a lot of games, we lost one a little bit unfortunate. But after all, great World championships! Very happy.”    Belgium captain Dylan Englebert said: “We were not used to concede as many goals as today, so we lack a little bit of focus in this part. For sure the second half was better, but they played well, both defensively and offensively.

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