The Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has appointed Spain as the host country for the inaugural FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup which will take place in Valencia from 10 to 17 December 2022. By doing so, the EB has followed the recommendation of the Task Force Events Bidding, which comprises of EB Members of all five Continental Federations.
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 (provided they meet the necessary requirements for it).
The following eight teams will participate in the very first edition, having qualified based on their position in the FIH World Rankings of 31 May 2021: Spain, Canada, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea and South Africa.
FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “On behalf of FIH, I’d like to thank wholeheartedly the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation for hosting this inaugural edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup, a new competition in our portfolio which will bring further excitement to our sport. Nothing less than a place within the FIH Hockey Pro League is at stake. This promises to generate great and hard-fought matches between excellent teams! That is really good for the growth of our sport worldwide.”
“We are very happy that the FIH has given us the organization of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup. Another great women's hockey event that we will be able to organize in our country. We are proud to be the chosen ones and we are very grateful. It is an opportunity for the women's team to qualify for the FIH Hockey Pro League and, like the men's team, play this great hockey competition",said Santiago Deó, President of the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation.
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