Hockey World Cup

It is an international field hockey tournament held every four years by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). FIH is the governing body of field and indoor hockey. In 1908, hockey became an Olympic sport, and in 1971, the Hockey World Cup was introduced, hosted by Spain and won by Pakistan. The first three World Cups were organized every two years. Since 1982, it has been following the current pattern of four years.

It consists of a qualifying phase and a final phase, each with the same format. In the preliminary round, the teams compete to qualify for the final tournament. The top two teams are automatically selected and the teams for the remaining berths or positions are determined in the playoffs. The upcoming 2023 Hockey World Cup will be held in India. It will be held from January 13 to January 29, 2023.

History

The Hockey World Cup was first designed by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan. He suggested his idea to the FIH through Patrick Rowley, the first editor of World Hockey magazine. Their ideas were approved on 26 October 1969 and adopted by the FIH Committee at a meeting in Brussels on 12 April 1970. The FIH decided that the first World Cup would be held in Pakistan in October 1971.

A trophy

The Hockey World Cup Trophy was designed by Bashir Mujid and created by the Pakistani Army. 안전놀이터

Formatting

The Hockey World Cup consists of the qualifying stage and the final tournament stage. Each step has the same format.

Qualification

Since 1977, qualifying has become part of the hockey world cup. All participating teams play in the preliminary round. The two teams are divided into two or more pools and compete to advance to the final tournament. The top two teams will automatically qualify and the remaining qualification will be determined in the playoffs.

The final tournament

The final tournament is attended by continental champions and other qualified teams. Sometimes it also features winners of summer Olympic hockey games or runners-up by continent. The teams are once more divided into pools and have a round robin tournament. The composition of the pool is determined using the current FIH world ranking.

A successful national team

Twenty-seven teams advanced to the hockey world cup finals. Of these, 13 teams advanced to the semifinals. Eight teams advanced to the finals.

Results by host country

Nine countries hosted the Hockey World Cup. The only hosts are the Netherlands (1973 and 1998) and Germany (2006). Spain, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan were runners-up in 1971, 1986, and 1990. Australia finished third when it hosted the 1994 tournament in Sydney.

Continental performance

So far, the finals of the Hockey World Cup have been contested by teams from Asia, Europe, and Oceania. European teams won the most with six titles, followed by Asian teams with five titles. Australia is the only team from Oceania. Neither America nor Africa has ever won.

What happened to the hockey world cup?

NHL, NHLPA say 'it's not feasible' and expect to return in 2025. The NHL and NHL Players Association announced on Friday that the hockey world cup will not be held in February 2024.