Following Ireland’s magnificent victory in the third and final Hockey World League Round 2 event in Dublin on Sunday, FIH is pleased to announce the line-ups for the women’s Hockey World League Semi-Final tournaments which will take place in Spain and Belgium later this year.
The Semi-Final phase really is the business end of the Hockey World League, where the places at the Rio 2016 Olympics are on the table. The Semi-Finals consist of two ten-team events, with the top three finishers at each event winning a ticket to Rio 2016. The seven qualifiers from Round 2 are joined in the Semi-Final phase by hockey’s “big beasts”, with the teams ranked from 1-11 at the time of seeking entries all entering the fray alongside Spain and Belgium, who pre-qualified for the Semi-Finals as tournament hosts.
The Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia takes place from 10-21 June 2015 in Spain’s third largest city and features an extraordinary line-up that is sure to draw the crowds. 2014 World Cup Bronze medallists and Champions Trophy winners Argentina will compete alongside USA, Germany, China, Great Britain, South Africa and host nation Spain. They will be joined by Ireland, Canada and Uruguay, who all qualified by achieving top 2 finishes at the Round 2 events and will be looking to continue their impressive form in this crucial Olympic qualifier.
The FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final will be played in Antwerp, Belgium from 20 June to 5 July as part of a spectacular joint men’s and women’s event. The women’s tournament features reigning World and Olympic champions the Netherlands as well as 2014 World Cup Silver medallists Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan and host nation Belgium. The Antwerp tournament will also feature four nations from Round 2, with India, Italy and Poland achieving top 2 finishes in the second phase while Azerbaijan have qualified as the highest ranked of the third placed finishers.
