Courtesy of the European Hockey Federation (EHF)
At the recent Executive Board (EB) meeting, the 2019 Evaluation Committee presented two bids for the 2019 EuroHockey Championships, one from Belgium and one from Germany. Following a full discussion and taking into account the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee, the EHF Executive Board has decided that the Royal Belgian Hockey Association has won this close competition. The EB is delighted to announce that the Women’s and Men’s EuroHockey Championships in 2019 will be played in the Belgian city of Antwerp.
Taking place in August 2019, the event will feature the top eight European women’s and men’s national teams. Six teams will qualify from the 2017 EuroHockey Championships in addition to the two top ranked teams at the 2017 EuroHockey Championships II (Glasgow, Men and Cardiff, Women), those events taking place in August 2017.
The EuroHockey Championships in 2019 are a direct qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the winning team not only being crowned European champions but also securing a coveted spot in the Tokyo line-up*.
EHF President Marijke Fleuren, said: “It was a challenging decision for the EHF Board to decide between two very strong bids for the 2019 EuroHockey Championships, so firstly I would like to thank the two National Associations for their excellent bids. This time Belgium came out as the winner after a fair and transparent decision making process.
"The Royal Belgian Hockey Association is one of the biggest success stories in recent European hockey history. In 2013 they hosted a magnificent fan focused EuroHockey Championships in Braxgata HC. Since then they have made massive gains in their capacity to deliver world class hockey events to the fan base and the popularity of hockey continues to grow all the time. We believe that the best is yet to come both on and off the pitch and we are looking forward to delivering, together, something very special for the athletes and fans in Antwerp 2019.”
Serge Pilet, General Secretary of Royal Belgian Hockey Association, added: "The Royal Belgian Hockey Association is delighted to have the opportunity to organise the 2019 EuroHockey Nations Championships. With the 2013 Euros in Boom and the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Finals in Brasschaat last year, Belgium has shown to the world that it is capable of organising world class hockey events, providing outstanding experiences for both athletes and fans. We are very proud that our hard work has been acknowledged by EHF and has resulted in this new allocation to Belgium."
For more information about both events, visit the EHF website www.eurohockey.org
*Pending approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Tokyo 2020 Olympic Hockey events qualification criteria, as proposed by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Executive Board.
