FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023: pools and match schedule revealed at official launch event!

    22 June 2023 Between November 29 and December 10, the Chile 2023 world event will take place on the field of Santiago’s National Stadium, where the 16 best female junior teams on the planet will be in action! The event was officially launched today. Santiago, June 22, 2023.- The Official Launch of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023 took place today at the headquarters of the Chilean Olympic Committee. The tournament will be staged between November 29 and December 10 on the new fields of Santiago’s National Stadium. The ceremony – where the pools and match schedule were revealed – was graced with the presence of the highest governmental sports authority of Chile, Minister Jaime Pizarro. The pools were established on the basis of the very first FIH Junior World Rankings as follows:   Pool A: Netherlands South Africa Australia Chile   Pool B: Argentina Korea Spain Zimbabwe   Pool C: Germany India Belgium Canada   Pool D: England United States New Zealand Japan   FIH President Tayyab Ikram stated: “Through its ‘athletes first’ approach, mentioned in the new Empowerment and Engagement strategy that was recently launched, FIH has made youth a strong focus going forward. The FIH Junior World Cups play a crucial role in this regard. Furthermore, as one of my priorities as FIH President is to highlight the powerful contributions hockey can make outside of the sport itself for individuals, community and society – with the important topic of sustainability being an integral part of this ambition – I look forward to seeing the ways this will be realized in this event. Congratulations to all 16 teams and special thanks to the Chile Hockey Federation as they will, as always, be fantastic hosts for this 10th edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup!” Chilean Hockey Federation President Andrés de Witt indicated that “it is a great opportunity to continue developing our sport internationally. We appreciate the trust of the international hockey authorities. We invite all countries to trust our organization.” Looking ahead, the next milestone will be the launch of the ticketing packages valid for the entire tournament. These can be purchased from June 30 at noon (local time) on the ticketing platform www.passline.cl. The Chilean Hockey Federation was selected in 2021 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to host the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023. You can find quotes from the participating teams here. #RisingStars

    Hockey ID at Special Olympics World Games 2023: Preview

      Lausanne, Switzerland: Starting from 18 June, for the very first time in the history of the Special Olympics, Hockey for those with Intellectual Disabilities, known as Hockey ID, will be played at the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin as a demonstration sport. The games which begin tomorrow, 17 June, and run till 25 June, will feature over 7,000 athletes across 26 summer sports from 190 delegations. Hockey ID was chosen as a demonstration sport as one of the two sports from a pool of ten sports, with a key factor that sealed the deal for Hockey ID’s inclusion being the willingness of the FIH, the EHF and other national hockey associations to work in partnership with the Special Olympics. The Hockey ID matches will run from 18 June to 24 June and feature 13 mixed gender teams representing 4 continental hockey federations. Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay and Spain will all have squads of 10 players present at the games, with hosts Germany being represented by two teams. The matches will be played in a 6-a-side format, on half-sized hockey pitches with each game consisting of two halves of 15-minutes. Each team will field 6 players at one time with 4 additional players available to be substituted in. Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Egypt, Netherlands, Pakistan and Germany (team 1) have been placed in Pool A, while Paraguay, Czech Republic, France, Chile, Bulgaria and Germany (team 2) have been placed in Pool B. The preliminary rounds will be played from 18 to 22 June, followed by knockout rounds on 22 and 23 June. The finals and the award ceremony are scheduled for 24 June. Norman Hughes, who is the FIH Hockey ID Project Lead and the driving force behind Hockey ID’s inclusion in the games, speaking before the games said: “To have 13 teams representing 4 continents in the very first edition of Hockey ID being played at the Special Olympics, is a very proud moment for our sport and shows the global interest in promoting inclusiveness. Our aim is to use the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 as a tool to inspire more nations to develop and grow Hockey ID.” For more information about HockeyID at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 click here. #HockeyID #HockeyInvites #HockeyEquals For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please consult FIH.hockey, follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and download the Watch.Hockey app.

      2023 Hockey5s Pan American Cups: Preview

        Lausanne, Switzerland: From 4-11 June 2023, the best Pan American hockey5s teams, in both men’s and women’s category, will gather in Kingston, Jamaica for the Hockey5s Pan American Cups (PAC) with three spots, in each gender, up for grabs in the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024. Panama, USA, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago will join hosts Jamaica in both men’s and women’s tournaments, with Puerto Rico (men), Uruguay (women) and Brazil (women) rounding out the competing teams, with 8 sides playing in the men’s tournament and 9 teams in the women’s. The women’s competition will get underway on the afternoon of 4 June with Paraguay taking on Costa Rica at 13:00 local time, while the men’s competition will get underway later on the same afternoon with Guatemala taking on Paraguay in the opening encounter. The teams will be split into two pools in each competition. In the men’s competition Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico and USA will play in Pool A, while Costa Rica, Guatemala, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago are placed in Pool B. In the women’s competition Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and USA are placed in Pool A, while Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Uruguay will compete in Pool B. Each team in the pool stage will play the other teams in the pool once. The top four teams in both pools will qualify for the cross-overs. The winning teams from the crossovers will qualify for the semi-finals. The losing semi-finalists will play in the bronze medal match. The two finalists and the bronze medalists in each gender will qualify for the corresponding FIH Hockey5s World Cup 2024. For further information about the 2023 Hockey5s Pan American Cups, click here. The inaugural edition of the FIH Hockey5s World Cup 2024 will be played in Muscat, Oman from 24-31 January 2024, with 16 teams competing in both men’s and women’s tournaments. In the men’s competition Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland from Europe, and Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria from Africa have qualified for the World Cup, alongside hosts Oman. Apart from the three qualifiers from Pan America, three teams from Oceania and Asia will also qualify for the World Cup. In the women’s competition Namibia, South Africa and Zambia from Africa have qualified for the World Cup, alongside hosts Oman. Apart from the three qualifiers from Pan America, three teams from Europe, Oceania and Asia will also qualify for the World Cup. #HockeyInvites #HockeyEquals #Hockey5s For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please consult FIH.hockey, follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and download the Watch.Hockey app.

        India claim gold at Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023, Women’s tournament to begin today

          Lausanne, Switzerland: From 23 May to 1 June 2023, the best young Asian men’s hockey teams went head-to-head in the Men’s Junior Asia Cup Salalah 2023, competing for the gold medal and the final three spots up for grabs in the upcoming FIH Junior Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023, to be played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India and Pakistan were the dominant teams in the Pool A winning three matches comprehensively, and played out an entertaining draw in their head-to-head matchup, as both teams earned qualification for the semi-finals, with India topping the group thanks to their superior goal difference. In Pool B, it was Malaysia on top, winning all four of their pool matches, and Korea finished second with three wins and a solitary loss, which came against Malaysia. The semi-finals were heavily one sided as India and Pakistan dominated their Pool B opponents. India claimed a 9-1 win over Korea with Boby Singh Dhami scoring a hat-trick and a total of 7 different players appearing on the scoresheet. Pakistan came out comfortable winners in the second semi-final with a 6-2 win over Malaysia. Rehman Abdul found the back of the goal thrice to propel Pakistan into the finals and himself to the top of the scoring charts. The finals saw India take on Pakistan, as the storied rivalry added yet another chapter to its books. A cagey and close encounter was edged by India who took a 2-goal lead into half-time and while Pakistan struck back once in the third quarter, India would hold their nerves to claim a 2-1 victory and the gold medal. Korea won the bronze medal match against Malaysia by a 2-1 margin. With the results India, Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia (hosts) have qualified for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023. Rehman Abdul of Pakistan and Kumpei Yasuda of Japan finished the tournament as the top goal scorers with 9 goals apiece. C.R. Kumar, coach of the Indian team, speaking on his team’s success said: “We had a very good tournament overall. To be able to deliver gold for the people in India is a very proud achievement for the boys. We had good preparation for the Asia Cup with the Sultan of Johor Cup last year. It’s important to get good practise against European teams as well, so we are looking forward to the matches against Spain and Germany in preparation for the World Cup.” Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 From 2-11 June 2023, the best women’s junior teams of Asia will compete in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Kakamigahara, Japan with three spots up for grabs in the upcoming FIH Junior Women’s World Cup Chile 2023! Chinese Taipei, India, Korea, Malaysia and Uzbekistan are placed in Pool A, while China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan and Kazakhstan make up Pool B. The top two teams, in each pool, at the end of the pool stage will make it to the semi-finals. The losing semi-finalists will play in the bronze medal match, and the winner of that contest will join the two finalists in qualifying for the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup 2023. For further information about the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023, click here. The FIH Junior Hockey Women’s World Cup 2023 will be played in Santiago, Chile from 29 November to 10th December 2023. Chile have qualified as the hosts of the competition. Belgium, England, Germany, Netherlands and Spain have qualified from Europe. Australia and New Zealand have qualified from Oceania. South Africa and Zimbabwe are the qualifiers from Africa. USA, Argentina and Canada qualified from Pan America, and the final three teams will qualify from Asia to complete all the 16 spots in the upcoming World Cup. #HockeyInvites #HockeyEquals #RisingStars For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please consult FIH.hockey, follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and download the Watch.Hockey app.

          AfHF PRESS RELEASE – JUNE 1, 2023

            1 June 2023 The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and the African Hockey Federation (AfHF) are pleased to announce renewal of a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for extending ongoing collaboration programs and coordinated efforts for the development of athletes, coaches, umpires, and officials. This MoU has a very long and positive history of cooperation between the continents.   The MoU is an imperative step towards continuous cooperation between the AHF and the AfHF. This will enhance the existing framework for joint initiatives, exchange programs, and equipment and resource sharing to uplift the standard of hockey. In particular, the AHF will continue to facilitate the AfHF’s procurement needs for equipment from Asian manufactures. The AHF will also provide Hockey equipment to the AfHF and support an Umpire Exchange protocol with African counterparts who would officiate in Asian Competitions and vice versa.  The understanding also includes participation in Educational and Developmental Projects.    Concurrent to the MoU renewal which has a successful record of two decades, the Asian HF and African HF also announced holding of a joint Development Forum to strengthen the ongoing collaboration. At this occasion, Mr. Seif Ahmed -AfHF President and FIH Executive Board member- stated: “I welcome and commend the renewal of the MoU for Inter-continental cooperation”. He thanked the AHF President Mr. Fumio Ogura for his unique initiative of organizing the first ever Afro-Asian Hockey Development Forum and foresees that the Forum will lead global Hockey to new heights and bring us closer in the spirit of collaboration for the development of Hockey.   Dato Fumio Ogura -AHF President- stated: “We are delighted to re-establish this partnership with the AfHF. We share values of Hockey and the commitment for Hockey’s global progress. We will empower each other and create more opportunities for our continents to excel in international competitions.”   Dato Tayyab Ikram -FIH President- appreciated the partnership between the Asian and African Hockey family. He emphasized the significance of solidarity in development and encouraged other continents to enter similar partnerships. “We admire and strongly support such continental twinning for collaboration, and so encourage other continents to take similar initiatives. The challenges faced by one continent can be transformed into opportunities with the support of others. The inter-continental collaborations will essentially develop a synergy which will ultimately facilitate global hockey development – and we need this synergy more than ever. We should work together to serve hockey in our best capacity”.   This partnership between the AHF and the AfHF sets the stage for exciting and promised growth of hockey in Asia and Africa. It represents a shared commitment to recognize and nurture talent, foster larger cooperation, and advance sports on both continental and global levels.   About the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF): The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) is the governing body for field hockey in Asia. Comprising 33 member countries, the AHF aims to promote and develop hockey at all levels across the continent. The AHF organizes various tournaments, conducts educational programs, and works collaboratively with stakeholders to foster the growth of hockey in Asia.   About the African Hockey Federation (AfHF): The African Hockey Federation (AfHF) is the continental governing body responsible for the development and promotion of field hockey in Africa. Representing 26 member associations, the AfHF strives to create opportunities, improve standards, and increase the participation of African nations in international hockey competitions. The federation focuses on capacity building, grassroot development, and strengthening regional cooperation to advance the sport in Africa. For more information on the AfHF, visit: www.africahockey.org