The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has appointed South Africa as the host country for the inaugural FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup. The event will take place at the North-West University of Potchefstroom – which successfully hosted the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup in April this year – from 28 November to 4 December 2022.
The aim of this new yearly event is to offer a top-level competition to the best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League and give the winning team the option to be promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League the next season, precisely.
Therefore, the FIH Hockey Nations Cup marks the start of the promotion-relegation principle for the FIH Hockey Pro League, with the winning team of the first FIH Hockey Nations Cup having the chance to be promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Pro League.
The following eight teams – which include some of the powerhouses of world hockey – will participate in the very first edition, having qualified based on their position in the FIH World Rankings of May 2021: South Africa, France, Canada, Japan, Korea, Ireland, Pakistan, and Malaysia.
The inaugural FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup will be held in Valencia, Spain, from 11 to 17 December this year.