German broadcaster ARD to air FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is glad to announce that it has signed a media rights agreement with German free-to-air broadcaster ARD for the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.

With this agreement, ARD will broadcast one semi-final and the third-place game or final of the men's and women's Olympic qualifiers live on sportschau.de. In total, up to four games of the German national hockey teams will be shown. The following matches will be broadcast via livestream if the teams are successful in the group stages:

Women:
Thu, 18/01/2024: Semi-final - 12:00 pm or 03:00 pm (CET)
Fri, 19/01/2024: Match for 3rd place - 12:00 pm, or Final - 03:00 pm (CET)

Men:
Sat, 20/01/2024: Semi-final - 03:00 pm or 05:30 pm (CET)
Sun, 21/01/2024: Match for 3rd place - 03:00 pm, or Final - 05:30 pm (CET)

The German women’s national team – who are ranked fifth in the FIH World Rankings - will play in Ranchi, India (13-19 January 2024), whilst the men’s – reigning World Champions! - will compete in Muscat, Oman (15-21 January 2024).

"ARD's broadcast of the deciding matches with the German teams in the men's and women's Olympic qualifier underlines our common goal of making German hockey accessible to a wide audience. Hockey fans will have the opportunity to watch our national teams compete for a place at the Olympic Games. This is a strong signal for the German Hockey Federation to further popularize our sport. The broadcast is also the result of the trusting cooperation between ARD and the DHB that has been built up over the last months," said Martin Schultze, DHB Director of Sport.

Commenting on the agreement, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “On behalf of FIH, I’d like to extend our sincerest thanks to ARD for partnering with us to broadcast some matches of the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in the country of the reigning FIH Men’s World Champions! This will for sure give a great boost to the visibility of hockey in a country that is known for its passion and talent for sport.”

The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers – through which 12 teams will qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 - take place as follows:

Women

Valencia, Spain (13-21 January)

Pool A: Belgium, Korea, Ireland, Ukraine

Pool B: Great Britain, Spain, Canada, Malaysia

Ranchi, India (13-19 January)

Pool A: Germany, Japan, Chile, Czech Republic

Pool B: India, New Zealand, United States, Italy

Men

Valencia, Spain (13-21 January)

Pool A: Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Ukraine

Pool B: Spain, Korea, Austria, Egypt