Stars Awards

FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2021-22: Shortlists revealed as voting opens!

6 September 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is delighted to reveal the shortlists for the FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2021-22, with players, coaches, media and fans being able to register their votes for the nominees in the women’s and men’s categories for the Best Player, Goalkeeper, Rising Star and Coach of the Year, starting from today, 6 September 2022. Additionally, awards for the Best Umpire of the Year, in men’s and women’s categories will be given, which will be selected by the FIH Officials Committee. The new voting process includes an Expert Group, whose votes will count for 40% of the overall result. Votes from National Associations, represented by their respective national teams’ captains and coaches, will count for a further 20%. The fans and other players (20%) as well as media (20%) will make the remaining 40%. Fans and players can cast their vote here Media can cast their vote here List of Awards FIH Player of the Year (Women & Men) FIH Rising Star of the Year (Women & Men, under 21 years old and/or having participated at the FIH Junior World Cup in 2021/2022) FIH Goalkeeper of the Year (Women & Men) FIH Coach of the Year (Women’s & Men’s Team) FIH Umpire of the Year (Women & Men), to be selected by the FIH Officials Committee The shortlisted individuals in each category can be found below: FIH Player of the Year Award Women: Felice Albers (NED), María José Granatto (ARG), Frédérique Matla (NED), Agustina Gorzelany (ARG), Georgina Oliva (ESP) Men: Arthur de Sloover (BEL), Harmanpreet Singh (IND), Niklas Wellen (GER), Thierry Brinkman (NED), Tom Boon (BEL) FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Award Women: Savita (IND), Josine Koning (NED), Belén Succi (ARG), Jocelyn Bartram (AUS), Phumelela Mbande (RSA) Men: Loïc van Doren (BEL), PR Sreejesh (IND), Pirmin Blaak (NED), Arthur Thieffry (FRA), Alexander Stadler (GER) FIH Rising Star of the Year Award Women: Charlotte Englebert (BEL), Luna Fokke (NED), Mumtaz Khan (IND), Jip Dicke (NED), Amy Lawton (AUS) Men: Miles Bukkens (NED), Timothée Clément (FRA), Sanjay (IND), Pau Cunill (ESP), Rizwan Ali (PAK) FIH Coach of the Year Award Women’s Team: Janneke Schopman (NED) Team India, Jamilon Mülders (GER) Team Netherlands, Katrina Powell (AUS) Team Australia, Raoul Ehren (NED) Team Belgium, Adrian Lock (ENG) Team Spain Men’s Team: Jeroen Delmee (NED) Team Netherlands, Michel van den Heuvel (NED) Team Belgium, Graham Reid (AUS) Team India, Garreth Ewing (RSA) Team South Africa, Frédéric Soyez (FRA) Team France The final shortlist was established solely by an Expert Group composed of players, former players, coaches and officials selected by each of their Continental Federations (note: the composition of the Expert Group is available here). Before establishing the final shortlist, the Expert Group received a long list of players and coaches based on performance data registered during the concerned period; of course, the Group had the opportunity to amend or add to the list as they wished. The following events were considered as a part of the selection process: FIH Hockey Pro League FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup FIH Hockey Junior World Cups Continental Championships (senior category) Data analysed: 400+ women players across 150+ matches 300+ men players across 72+ matches Detailed stats (total goals, assists, saves, shots at goal, tackles, passes, shoot outs, wins, losses, etc.) collected from each event as mentioned above (except continental events) Player of the match awards Player of the event awards The voting process will remain open till 30 September at midnight CEST, with the winners for all categories being announced in early October 2022. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #HockeyStarsAwards #HockeyEquals #HockeyInvites

South Africa to host inaugural Men’s Nations Cup

FIH Hockey Nations Cup: pools and match schedules revealed

The International Hockey Federation has revealed the pools (two groups of four teams each) and match schedules of both upcoming FIH Hockey Nations Cups, Men’s and Women’s. The FIH Hockey Nations Cup ushers a new dawn of promotion and relegation in 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 FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup will run from 28 November to 4 December 2022, in Potchefstroom, South Africa. The hosts South Africa, will play in Pool A with France, Ireland and Pakistan; while Canada joins the Asian triumvirate of Korea, Japan and Malaysia in the Pool B. The opening match will see two Asian powerhouses go head-to-head as Malaysia take on Korea on 28 November at the North-West University of Potchefstroom to start the new era of international hockey. The Final will be played on 4 December (see full match schedule here). The list of officials for the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2022 can be found here. The FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup will run from 11 to 17 December 2022, in Valencia, Spain. The hosts Spain, will play in Pool A with Korea, Ireland and Italy; while India, Japan, Canada and South Africa compete in Pool B. The opening match will be played on 11 December in Valencia between India and Canada; two teams who are very familiar with each other having faced off in the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022 as well as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, within the past two months. The Final will be played on 17 December (see full match schedule here). The list of officials for the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup 2022 can be found here. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #FIHNationsCup #HockeyInvites #HockeyEquals

FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar – Rourkela: draw scheduled on 8 September

1 September 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is pleased to announce that the draw ceremony to determine the pools of the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar – Rourkela will be held on 8 September, at 12 noon IST/ 08h30 CEST, at the Convention Centre, Lok Sewa Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It will be streamed live on Watch.Hockey. The pinnacle of the FIH men’s tournaments will be held from 13 to 29 January 2023 and involve 16 participating national teams. Those include India, as the hosts of the competition, whilst Malaysia, Japan and Korea are the other Asian teams. Africa is represented by South Africa, recent winners of the Africa Cup of Nations. From Europe, the following teams have qualified: Belgium, England, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France and Wales. Argentina and Chile are the two American teams having booked their ticket for the prestigious tournament, while Australia and New Zealand, from Oceania, complete the draw. The draw will be conducted by FIH CEO Thierry Weil, with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik also in attendance. The four top teams which include host India, Australia, Belgium and Netherlands will be placed on the first row of their corresponding Pools based on the FIH World Rankings as per 1 June 2022. The draw will start with Row 4 of each Pool, involving the following teams: South Africa, Wales, Japan and Chile. It will then continue with Row 3 of each Pool (involving Spain, Malaysia, France and Korea) and conclude with Row 2 of each Pool (with Germany, England, Argentina and New Zealand). The Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the brand-new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela will host the matches, in the state of Odisha, India. In the previous edition, in 2018, Belgium claimed the title by winning the final against Netherlands, while Australia wrapped up the podium places, finishing third. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #HWC2023 #HockeyInvites #HockeyEquals

13th African Games - Accra 2023

North-West African Qualifiers for AAG 2023 Cancelled

Due to the late withdrawal of Sierra Leone Men’s Team, this tournament was cancelled by the AfHF. Ghana 🇬🇭 (Men) & Nigeria 🇳🇬 (Men) are automatically qualified for the AAG 2023 in Accra, Ghana.

FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023: Venues and timings confirmed!

23 August 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the FIH Hockey Pro League participating nations are glad to confirm as below the venues that will be used for the fourth season of FIH’s global league for national teams – ‘Hockey at its Best’ – which will run from 28 October 2022 to 5 July 2023: Australia: Newcastle, Hobart Argentina: Mendoza, Santiago del Estero Belgium: Antwerp England: London India: Bhubaneswar, Rourkela Netherlands: Eindhoven, Amsterdam New Zealand: Christchurch, Wellington As already announced in March, a new schedule – based on a series of “mini-tournaments” where several teams will gather in one venue to play two matches against each other – will come into force for this new Pro League season. This format will have a major positive impact on players’ welfare and the environment, thanks to a substantial reduction in the amount of travel needed for each team and the officials. Another great advantage of this revised format is that it increases the number of dates available for athletes to compete in their domestic leagues and club competitions. Furthermore, this season will see the implementation of a promotion-relegation principle for the very first time, with the team finishing last being relegated, while the team winning the 2022 FIH Hockey Nations Cup – a new event – being promoted for the 2023-2024 Pro League season. FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “The integration of the promotion-relegation principle will substantially add to the excitement around Pro League. Also, the new format is beneficial to everyone, athletes, National Associations, clubs and fans in particular. We’re glad to welcome some new venues for this season; this is great for the growth of our sport! We’re very much looking forward to the fourth edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League!” The FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023 match schedule, including the match timings, is available here. #FIHProLeague #HockeyEquals #HockeyInvites For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website.

FIH World Ranking

Movements in world ranking following the Commonwealth Games

10 August 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England and a series of test matches between Poland, Austria and Chile have made some impact upon the FIH World Rankings among both the men’s and women’s nations. While there have been shifts and movements up and down the table, the top of the men’s and women’s rankings remains unaltered. Australia men, victors in Birmingham for the seventh consecutive time, are sitting at the top of the men’s rankings with 2851 points. Belgium (2742) and Netherlands (2646) are in second and third place. Germany (2340) men sit in fourth place, while a silver at the Commonwealth Games helped India (2294) maintain its position in fifth, just ahead of Commonwealth Games bronze medallists England (2158) in sixth. Argentina (2082) and Spain (1849) are in seventh and eighth position respectively, while New Zealand’s (1778) fifth place in Birmingham means the Black Sticks remain in ninth. Further down the table, South Africa men’s (1450) impressive fourth place finish at the Commonwealth Games sees them move to 14th, one place ahead of Canada (1421). Wales (1383) remain in 16th while Pakistan’s (1333) performances over the two week long competition sees them rooted to 18th spot. Scotland (1159) are also non-shifters in 21st position. Chile (959), Austria (1169) and Ireland (1469) are currently involved in a three-team test series. The results so far have favoured Ireland as the Green Army has moved from 14th to 13th. Austria remain in 19th place while Chile sit at 23rd. In the women’s rankings there is no movement in the top three. Netherlands (3155) continue to top the table as they have for the past decade. Argentina (2714) are in second placed with Australia (2589) in third after a silver medal win in Birmingham. England (2289), who won their first ever Commonwealth Games gold medal have jumped to fourth place, with Germany (2189), Belgium (2159) and Spain (2143) in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. New Zealand’s (1995) fourth place finish hasn’t altered their position at eighth, and India (1953) are just behind in ninth position. China (1805) make up the top 10, ahead of Asian rivals Japan (1693) and Korea (1649). Canada’s (1421) performance in Birmingham helped them move up to 14th; Scotland (1224) are unmoved at 17th and South Africa (1151) remains at 20th in the rankings. Wales (961) dropped from 23rd to 24th. Kenya’s (604) first appearance at the Commonwealth Games saw then move up two place to 37th, after a win over neighbouring Ghana in the classification match. Ghana (684) drop one spot to 32nd. To see the complete FIH World Rankings, please click here. The rankings calculations model that FIH introduced on 1st January 2020 moved away from the previous tournament-based rankings system to a dynamic, match-based method where opposing teams exchange points in official, FIH sanctioned games. The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. More information about the new rankings model can be found below. How the FIH World Rankings work: The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. FIH World Rankings explained: Based on the Elo rating system, which is used as the basis of many other sports ranking systems When two nations play against each other, a number of ranking points are exchanged between them In every match, the number of points gained by one team is exactly matched by the number of points lost by the other Teams will win more points for beating teams ranked above them, and therefore teams will lose more points for losing to a team ranked below them Teams will win less points for beating teams ranked below them, and therefore teams will lose less points for losing to a team ranked above them If a draw occurs, the lower ranked team will gain a small number of points and the higher ranked team will lose the same number of points The number of points exchanged is dependent on the result of the match (win, lose, shootout win/loss or draw), the importance of the match (part of a major tournament, or a test series for example), and the relative difference in ranking points between the teams before the match. More details about the formula used in the algorithm, weightings of matches and other factors can be found HERE together with a Frequently Asked Questions document HERE. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please consult FIH.hockey, follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and download the Watch.Hockey app.