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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December 5, 2021 | Source: FIH On International Volunteer Day, we celebrate people from across the globe who selflessly give their service in the administration and promotion of hockey. from board members and committee chairs to coaches and umpires; from admin workers, to media personnel – all the people listed below have gone above and beyond to make our sport the very best experience it can be for all participants. To honour these hard-working and committed individuals, FIH is presenting an FIH International Volunteer Day award, recognising the invaluable contribution of each nominee. All the recipients of the award have been nominated by their continental federation. In addition, in this year of Olympic Games and the Men’s Junior World Cup we are paying a special tribute to the volunteers who made the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 a roaring success, despite all the unprecedented challenges posed by a global pandemic. Emphasising what an incredible, albeit different, experience it was to be a volunteer at this year’s Olympic Games, are the words of Bongekile Motsa, who is originally from Eswatini but has been living in Tokyo since a couple of years. “One of my greatest highlights was meeting and making acquaintances with people from diversified backgrounds on a daily basis,” she said. “My team (BIO) was so supportive and was honestly the best team I had seen at the Olympics Broadcasting Unit (biased). I still hang out with the members of my team to this day! Working across the two hockey fields brought so much thrill because I could watch both men and ladies’ games as I carried my duties, which included being in close proximity with the athletes.” In the video clips, we hear from Michiko Matsuda, who has been volunteering ever since she moved from Japan to Australia to study. She spent 10 years in Australia working and playing hockey and now, after a hugely impressive ‘performance’ as a volunteer at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Michiko is a permanent volunteer with the Japanese Hockey Association. She combines volunteering with a full-time job in finance. ‘I was Team Liaison volunteer but then I became Team Liaison Manager so I was in charge of managing 40 Team Liaison volunteers. My aim was to get everyone to work as a team but I also wanted to help the volunteers achieve their own dreams.’ Michiko also galvinised the team of volunteers throughout the stadium into cheering each team as they took to the pitch using each nation’s favourite chant. And so, when Australia stepped onto the pitch they were greeted with the familiar sound of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi’! The second video introduces Yoko Aoshima who was a member of the team who greeted international delegates as they visited the Oi Hockey Stadium. ‘[Covid] meant it was a hard time at the start of the Olympic Games with a lot of nervousness in the local population. But within three days people were waving and asking about the Games. That is the power of sport. People were realising what the athletes had been through and there was a change in the atmosphere and people knew this was the right thing.’ ‘I was always a big fan of the Olympics and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the Olympics coming to Tokyo and I didn’t want to miss it.’ Four months on and Yoko is part of a WhatsApp group with many other volunteers and they are planning a reunion event. She was also the creative force behind the volunteers ‘pin badge’. While there were few opportunities to swap these in Tokyo, Yoko hopes to take her volunteering skills and her pin badges to Paris 2024. Bruce Danbury of Great Britain is a well-known character pitch-side at hockey events, where – over the course if three Olympic Games and countless other international and national matches – he works as Field of Play Manager. But, as he explains, the Tokyo Games were unlike anything he had experienced before. ‘I assumed until the last minute I wouldn’t be at Tokyo, but I was lucky enough to be one of three international volunteers working on a sports specific role at the hockey venue. ‘The stadium was just fantastic, easy access, huge changing rooms, two fantastic pitches. The standard of play by both athletes and officials was the best I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine what it is like to be an athlete at that level, but watching them and realising the journey they had been on leading up to the Games but the level of emotion for both winners and losers was so intense. ‘Some of that fortnight was really lonely,’ says Bruce. ‘You ate by yourself, you jumped on a bus, you stayed in a bubble. There were lots of people but we were all isolated. But on the other hand, everyone was so friendly, so helpful and all the other volunteers were also super helpful. The highs were really high, and the lows were just a bit lonely.’ Yoko, Michiko, Bongekile and Bruce are just four shining examples from the thousands of people who give their time to volunteer within our sport. Listed below are volunteers from the five continental federations and the awards and recognition they are receiving is not solely for these people but in honour of volunteers everywhere. FIH International Volunteer Day award winners European Hockey Federation In the image (L to R): Björn Isberg, Barbara Morgan, Doctor Katja Van Oostveldt and Professor Dr. Udo Rolle The EHF ran an astonishing 25 EuroHockey events during 2021, working through the various Covid restrictions to bring hockey in an entertaining but safe manner to athletes across the continent. This would not have been possible without the thoughtful work of the EHF Covid Panel – Dr Katja Van Oostveldt (BEL), Professor Dr. Udo Rolle (GER), Björn Isberg (SWE), Sylvie Petitjean (FRA) and Barbara Morgan (SCO). In the image (on the left): Sylvie Petitjean In a statement from the EHF, special mention goes to Dr Katja Van Oostveldt (BEL) and Professor

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4 December 2021 Day 10: South Africa produced a superb display to defeat Korea and secure their best ever finish at a men’s Junior World Cup as the 9th to 16th classification positions were decided in Bhubaneswar.  The 4-0 triumph earned South Africa a ninth-place finish at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, surpassing their previous best of 10th which was achieved at the Lucknow 2016 edition of the competition.   Pakistan, Canada and USA were also winners in their final matches, securing 11th, 13th and 15th positions respectively. More details of all today’s matches can be found below.  15th – 16th Place: USA 2-2 Egypt (3-0 After Shoot-Out) USA ended a difficult tournament on a winning note, fighting back from 2-0 down to claim an excellent draw against Egypt before triumphing in the shoot-out to snatch 15th position in the final standings. The Egyptians opened the scoring inside the first 60 seconds of the match when Abdelrahman Elganayni netted a penalty corner, with the same player doubling the advantage with a 24th minute field goal. Egypt held their two-goal lead until seven minutes from the end of the contest, when Tymen Kloen pulled a goal back from a penalty corner. Incredibly, Kloen struck again with a last-gasp open play effort to force the shoot-out in which the Americans dominated, with Kloen, Finlay Quale and team captain Jatin Sharma all converting to earn a 3-0 win in the one-on-ones.   We’ve improved a lot in this tournament”, said USA’’s Tymen Kloen, whose contribution rightly earned him the Player of the Match award. “We’re a very young squad and we have a lot of potential. I think we showed that today and we came up with a win. 0-2 down at half-time and we still win. This is a good sign.” 13th – 14th Place: Canada 2-1 Chile Canada snatched 13th place with a 2-1 win over Pan American rivals Chile in the second match of the day. Following two scoreless quarters, Canada took the lead with five minutes remaining in the third period when Christopher Tardif netted from open play, with Tanvir Kang scoring what proved to be the decisive goal midway through the fourth and final quarter. Chile’s Agustin Amoroso bagged a penalty corner with three minutes of the match left to play, setting up a tense finish to the contest. However, it was the Canadians who held on to secure 13th place, their highest finish since the 1985 Junior World Cup on home soil in Vancouver, where they also finished 13th.  “I feel like we got better every single game in this tournament, we just sticked to the game plan and we got the result today”, said Canada’s Player of the Match John Jacoby. “There are so many learnings that we will bring home like the speed of the game, playing these crazy teams, it’s a lot!” Chile’s Nicolás Abujatum said: “They knew us, we knew them. These matches are decided by the team that makes less mistakes. We made mistakes that cost us to lose the game. Every player learnt a lot during this tournament. We have players with different ages, so each one has different things to learn. Some of us will not continue in the Juniors’ team, others will have more continental competitions, maybe World Cups, so I think we are learning how international matches are played.” 11th – 12th Place: Pakistan 5-0 Poland  Pakistan proved too strong for Poland in the 11th – 12th classification match, running out comfortable winners against the Europeans in the third match of the day. The Junior Green Shirts exploded out of the blocks, taking a 2-0 lead in the opening six minutes thanks to two penalty corner conversions from Ali Rizwan. The team from Asia extended their lead to 4-0 ahead of half time, with Moin Shakeel firing home from open play before captain Abdul Rana netted from a penalty corner routine. Poland battled hard and made life difficult for their opponents after the break, with Pakistan only adding one more to their tally thanks to Muhammad Hammadudin’s field goal.  “We were better structured today”, said Player of the Match Ali Ghazanfar of Pakistan. “We’ve learnt from our mistakes in the previous matches and today we have converted our goal opportunities. We didn’t play well against Germany, which was our first match in the tournament, but for the other matches we played very well. We improved match by match.  Poland’s Jakub Mikolajczak said: “It wasn’t our day today. I think that Pakistan were just better. We have to work a lot until the next tournament. Participating in this World Cup was the best thing in my life! I’m one of the youngest players. See you soon!” 9th – 10th Place: South Africa 4-0 Korea South Africa’s best Junior World Cup finish came courtesy of a dominant display against Korea, with captain Guy Morgan producing a Player of the Match performance to help his team along the way. Morgan scored two sensational penalty corner drag-flicks, firing high into the net in the both the third and fourth quarters, giving his team a deserved lead following a score-less opening two periods. South Africa hit a third less than 60 seconds after their second, with Trevor de Lora firing home on the backhand before the result was put beyond all doubt seven minutes from the end when Zenani Kraai finished off a superb passing move to complete the match scoring.    “I think we had a bit of a slow start this evening, which was a bit frustrating from our side”, said South Africa’s Morgan after the match. “At half time, we worked it out in our heads, got back out there and made things happen, which was awesome. I’d like to say a massive thank you to the organisers, officials and everyone. It has been an amazing experience for everyone.”  Korea captain Bae Soung Min said: “South Africa played very well, making the chances to get the goals. The tournament has been a good experience.”  The Junior World Cup action concludes on Sunday (5 December) with the four

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