Lausanne, Switzerland: Meeting today virtually for the first time of the year, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) have decided that the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup, which was initially scheduled to be played in December 2021 but had to be put “on hold” due to the Omicron variant outbreak, will be staged from 2 to 13 April 2022 at the originally planned venue, the North-West University of Potchefstroom in South Africa. “Since the postponement of this event, we’ve been in permanent contact with the South African Hockey Association. Based on the reports about the current evolution of the health situation in the country, the EB has confirmed its decision from its December meeting, namely that the tournament should be postponed – and not cancelled – and that South Africa should have priority for hosting it. We’re aware that the new dates are challenging for some nations – in particular because of Ramadan or the European club calendar – but it was essential for FIH to fully support the wish of the athletes to play. We’re looking forward to a great event with hockey’s female rising stars!”, FIH CEO Thierry Weil commented. Sadly however, FIH and Hockey Belgium have been forced to cancel the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Belgium 2022. This decision has been taken on the basis of the current health situation in Belgium and after extensive consultations with and recommendation from all official and competent authorities in the country. Thierry Weil said: “The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup is the pinnacle of indoor hockey. Therefore, considering all indoor hockey athletes and fans, it was extremely hard to cancel the 2022 edition planned in just a few weeks. But, of course, we have followed the recommendations of the local authorities. On behalf of FIH, I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the Belgian organisers, and in particular the Belgian Hockey Association, for their tremendous preparation works and their great dedication.” Finally, the EB took note that the first FIH Hockey Pro League matches of the year, involving the Women’s teams of China and India, will take place on 31 January and 1 February 2022 in Oman, where both teams will be to play the Women’s Asia Cup, which has recently been moved from Thailand to Oman, precisely. 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. 

20 December 2021 Agreement includes provision of a bespoke Competition Management platform for FIH and its member associations Lausanne and St.Gallen, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD), the leading global sports technology company that creates immersive experiences for sports fans, today announced a global partnership which makes Sportradar the exclusive betting and gaming data rights partner of hockey’s world governing body through to the end of the 2029/30 season. As part of the agreement, Sportradar will collect and distribute betting data globally from all FIH competitions for the next nine years. This includes approximately 300 matches each season including the FIH Hockey World Cups, FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers, FIH Indoor Hockey World Cups, FIH Hockey Pro League and FIH Hockey5s World Cups, as well as the Olympic Qualifiers. Sportradar will also provide FIH with a bespoke Competition Management platform to manage their tournaments and data more effectively. Intuitive and easy-to-use, the platform is tailor-made to fit FIH’s rules and regulations and will help manage competitions, match results, player statistics, rankings and much more. The Competition Management platform will also be made available to all FIH member associations including continental and national associations. Through a dedicated and focused effort to collect a deeper level of data, FIH will be able to harness the data to provide more insights to engage hockey fans around the world. As part of the agreement, Sportradar will also provide Integrity Services. Sportradar’s Universal Fraud Detection Service (UFDS), a proven bet monitoring system, will help maintain the integrity of FIH competitions and protect them from match-fixing and other risks. Education and prevention workshops will also be provided to officials. Ed Blonk, Chief Commercial Officer and Regional CEO APAC, Sportradar said: “Sportradar’s experience and technological know-how will allow us to create bespoke solutions for FIH that will help to elevate the profile of hockey and enable the continued growth of the game. Combined with the expertise in leveraging the power of sports data, we look forward to creating enhanced levels of engagement with hockey fans together with FIH.” FIH CEO Thierry Weil added: “One of our key initiatives is to develop exciting and entertaining events that are meaningful for athletes as well as fan-focused to attract new fans and boost participation. With Sportradar’s proven track record supporting some of the world’s biggest sports federations, we are confident that this partnership will largely contribute to growing hockey globally through bespoke data. Furthermore, we’re looking forward to benefitting from Sportradar’s expertise in providing intelligence solutions to maintain sport’s integrity.” 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.  About Sportradar Sportradar is the leading global sports technology company creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors. Established in 2001, the company is well positioned at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries, providing sports federations, news media, consumer platforms and sports-betting operators with a range of solutions to help grow their business. Sportradar employs more than 2,300 full time employees across 19 countries around the world. It is our commitment to excellent service, quality and reliability that makes us the trusted partner of more than 1,600 customers in over 120 countries and an official partner of the NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UEFA, FIFA, ICC, and ITF. We cover more than 750,000 events annually across 83 sports. With deep industry relationships, Sportradar is not just redefining the sports fan experience; it also safeguards the sports themselves through its Integrity Services division and advocacy for an integrity-driven environment for all involved. www.sportradar.com Source: Sportradar Group AG

21 December 2021 Lausanne, Switzerland: Will it won’t it? Will it won’t it? Whether sports events were going ahead or not during 2021 was the most common question among athletes, coaching staff, volunteers and fans. Despite the uncertainty that gripped the world, teams continued to prepare, volunteers continued to offer their services and fans continued to hope that they would get the chance to watch, support, cheer and celebrate. And by a combination of determination, incredible attention to detail, superb organisation and a collective willingness, the greatest sports show on earth did get its day in the sun. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 finally burst into life 12 months later than originally scheduled but with the same verve, energy and excellence of any previous Games. It was also a common observation that this Games was more emotional than any previous one, simply because everyone was so relieved that they could finally get to compete. And it was glorious. Belgium men and Netherlands women came away with gold medals after displays of sheer excellence. The final between Australia and Belgium men will long be remembered as one of the most dramatic endings to a competition, while the Netherlands women swept to victory against Argentina at the end of a campaign that sealed their position as one of the best teams – in any sport – in the world. It was not all about the winners. South Africa men dazzled us with their skill and creativity; India men and women’s teams showed how a nation’s support could be ignited by a performance; the host nation showed how an army of volunteers could make even an empty stadium a warm, welcoming and exciting place to be. The other major international event to take place was the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar. It was an event where new heroes stepped forth, not least the Player of the Tournament Timothee Clement of France and goal-scoring machine Miles Bukkens of the Netherlands. But it was the junior men of Argentina, led by former international and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Lucas Rey who stole the show. They out-played the hitherto excellent German team to win the title and become another chapter in Argentina’s hockey success story. The third season of the FIH Hockey Pro League also got under way with some European teams able to get the competition started. Netherlands women continued where they finished season two – winning their matches against Belgium and Germany – and introducing a number of new players to their roster. Belgium men had mixed fortunes. They had a glorious opening encounter with Germany, winning both matches in dazzling style. They then met the rejuvenated Netherlands under new Head Coach Jerome Delmee. The Dutch won and gave a glimpse of an exciting new era for the men in orange. The FIH Hockey Pro League continues in February with new teams taking their place in the competition – for this season only. Spain and India women’s national teams and Canada and South Africa men will be new names on the fixture list and the hockey world cannot fail to be excited to see these teams in action on a regular basis. Looking ahead to the first part of 2022, the top quality action gets underway in Liège, Belgium, with the sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup. The event is always a great spectacle and introduces new players and teams to hockey fans. Among the teams appearing in Liège will be Kazakhstan, Namibia, Iran, Ukraine and the Czech Republic, each displaying their own style of hockey. A launch event for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Belgium 2022 took place in September, with FIH CEO Thierry Weil, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Minister Valérie Glatigny, Liège Province Vice-President Katty Firquet, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Administration General Manager Alain Laitat and Royal Belgian Hockey Association President Patrick Keusters all in attendance. The event runs from 2 February to 6 February. Despite some international hockey action taking place, much has also been disrupted or cancelled due to the global pandemic. The Junior Women’s World Cup in South Africa was a casualty, although FIH has confirmed that everything will be done so that the event takes place in 2022. Australia and New Zealand have seen all their international involvement curtailed due to Covid-related travel restrictions. These restrictions have not stopped online hockey activity; the use of which has sped up and proliferated during the pandemic. The #HockeyInvites Year of the Youth initiative, created and organised by the FIH Academy, saw numerous projects launched, with the aim of inspiring the next generation of athletes, coaches, officials and leaders. Among the projects launched were FIH World Hockey Camps, the FIH Academy Young Leader Membership and a #HockeyInvites Year of the Youth programme where young, aspiring hockey players from around the world were able to link up with athletes and coaches to remain engaged with the game and to develop their understanding and performance. Meanwhile, also utilising online facilities to bring people together to share ideas was the programme of FIH Gender Equality Workshops. An opening webinar introducing the theme and starting a conversation was held in the early part of 2021 and from that launch point, webinars have been held by the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF), the African Hockey Federation (AfHF) and the European Hockey Federation (EHF). Each webinar unearthed different gender issues and set in motion plans to make important, progressive changes. 2021 was the year when the spotlight was thrown on every organisation’s environmental impact and sustainability strategies. The creation of the FIH Sustainability Task Force in March is an important step for hockey in this regard. Working with its partner Polytan and its Preferred Suppliers, the FIH will endeavour to ensure its environmental footprint is as small as possible. The delivery of climate positive turfs for Tokyo 2020 was one example of the progressive work being carried out in this area. One of the pillars of FIH strategy

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8 December 2021 Lausanne, Switzerland: Meeting today virtually for the last time of the year, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) approved the participation of South Africa and Canada in the third edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Pro League. As informed earlier, this participation is temporary and limited to this edition only. Both teams replace Australia and New Zealand, who had to pull out of the current season due to COVID-related international travel constraints. “It’s great that both South Africa and Canada are joining the FIH Hockey Pro League. Both teams are the first ones from Africa and North America to join the Men’s League, which is excellent for the growth and globalisation of hockey”, FIH CEO Thierry Weil commented. The first Pro League matches of the year in 2022 will involve the Women’s teams of China and India. They will take place on 31 January – 1 February in Thailand, where both teams will be to play the Women’s Asia Cup 2022. The current match schedule of this Pro League season is available here. Furthermore, the EB members extended congratulations and thanks to Hockey India for their outstanding work in hosting a magnificent FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021. Regarding the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup South Africa 2021, which was initially scheduled for this month but had to be put “on hold” because of the Omicron variant outbreak, the EB has decided that this event should be postponed and that South Africa should have priority for hosting it. The EB also expressed thanks to the organisers – both the South African Hockey Association and the North-West University of Potchefstroom – for their intense preparations. 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. 

5 December 2021 Day 11: Lautaro Domene scored a hat-trick of penalty corners to help Argentina become men’s Junior World Cup champions for the second time in their history, beating Germany 4-2 in a superb competition final in Bhubaneswar.  Domene’s achievement was made more remarkable by the fact that Argentina won just three penalty corners in the entire match, with the drag-flicker finishing with a 100 percent conversion rate as his team added a second men’s Junior World Cup title to the one claimed in Rotterdam in 2005.  The result ended Germany’s quest for a seventh men’s Junior World Cup title and brought the curtain down on a superb competition at the Kalinga Stadium.  Earlier in the day, France – inspired by Player of the Tournament Timothée Clément – defeated India to claim the bronze medal while Netherlands and Spain were respective winners over Belgium and Malaysia in the 5-6 and 7-8 classification matches.  More details of all today’s matches, as well as final standings and the competition award winners, can be found below. 1st – 2nd Place: Germany 2-4 Argentina  In a magnificent contest, Argentina produced the most clinical of displays to overcome the six times champions, with a perfect penalty corner conversion record and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Nehuen Hernando proving vital. Lautaro Domene netted penalty corner drag-flicks in each of the first two quarters, leaving Germany with a mountain to climb in the remaining 30 minutes. And climb it they did, with Julius Heyner – earlier given a 10-minute yellow card suspension for a coming together with Argentina’s Joaquin Toscani – firing home from close range before Masi Phandt’s deflected penalty corner effort rocketed into the roof of Hernando’s goal with 13 minutes remaining. However, Domene made it three penalty corner conversions from three attempts in the 50th minute before Hernando pulled off some astonishing saves to deny Germany another equaliser. Argentina sealed their second men’s Junior World Cup title when Franco Agostini fired into an empty net in the final minute, with Germany having replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player in a final attempt to salvage the situation.  “We cannot explain our feelings in this moment”, said a delighted Lautaro Domene, the Player of the Match, after the contest. “It is difficult to know what we are thinking. We knew that this team could do it. We played together, as we have done in the other games. We committed as a team, and that is the most important thing. It is a craziness that we cannot explain, what it is to win this tournament. It’s beautiful, and we are very proud of this team.”  Germany captain Hannes Muller said: “First of all, congratulations to Argentina for their win. I think the first half was not good for us. Too many technical mistakes, not enough pressure on the ball. The second half was a little bit better but, in the end, we lost the final. At this moment it’s hard to understand that.”  3rd – 4th Place: India 1-3 France France captain Timothée Clément netted his fourth hat-trick in six matches at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, firing his team to the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over host nation India. The home side dominated the early stages and even managed to hit the post, but France grew into the contest and edged ahead four minutes before half time thanks to Clément’s superb penalty corner drag-flick. Clément netted another penalty corner early in the third quarter, but India hit back through Sudeep Chirmako’s brilliant reverse scooped finish to leave give his team hope in the latter stages. It was Clément however, who would have the final say, with his deflected fourth quarter penalty corner effort completing his personal treble and securing a superb bronze medal for this hugely gifted young French team.  “What an emotion!”, said France captain Timothée Clément, who was named Player of the Match. “Two days ago, it was very difficult to lose in the semi-final. It was very important to finish like this. We have a bronze medal. It’s just amazing! And this team is perfect. Wow! We are very happy for French hockey. The future generation is here and I think we have a really, really great future!” India’s Vivek Sagar Prasad said: “It was a really good match, a very close one. Congratulations to the French team! We’re very disappointed. As players, we will all work to improve in the future.” 5th – 6th Place: Belgium 4-6 Netherlands The Low Countries derby battle for fifth position went the way of the Netherlands, who earned a 6-4 victory against Belgium. The Netherlands raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Miles Bukkens (2) and Brent van Bijnen before Belgium hit back through Thibault Deplus. Bukkens completed his hat-trick just before half time to take the score to 4-1, but two goals in three third quarter minutes from Roman Duvekot pulled the Belgians to within one goal of their opponents. However, strikes from Guus Jansen and Casper van der Veen sealed the win for the Netherlands, with Belgium’s Jeff de Winter scoring the final goal of a thrilling match eight minutes from full time.  “We had a good game plan, We started really well and scored four goals”, said Guus Jansen, the Player of the Match. “In the first part of the second half, we lost it a bit but with the good work of the whole team we managed to take the win home. That’s a great feeling. Overall, it’s a little shame that we didn’t finish first. That’s what we came for. But after all, we won a lot of games, we lost one a little bit unfortunate. But after all, great World championships! Very happy.”    Belgium captain Dylan Englebert said: “We were not used to concede as many goals as today, so we lack a little bit of focus in this part. For sure the second half was better, but they played well, both defensively and offensively.

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December 5, 2021 | Source: FIH On International Volunteer Day, we celebrate people from across the globe who selflessly give their service in the administration and promotion of hockey. from board members and committee chairs to coaches and umpires; from admin workers, to media personnel – all the people listed below have gone above and beyond to make our sport the very best experience it can be for all participants. To honour these hard-working and committed individuals, FIH is presenting an FIH International Volunteer Day award, recognising the invaluable contribution of each nominee. All the recipients of the award have been nominated by their continental federation. In addition, in this year of Olympic Games and the Men’s Junior World Cup we are paying a special tribute to the volunteers who made the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 a roaring success, despite all the unprecedented challenges posed by a global pandemic. Emphasising what an incredible, albeit different, experience it was to be a volunteer at this year’s Olympic Games, are the words of Bongekile Motsa, who is originally from Eswatini but has been living in Tokyo since a couple of years. “One of my greatest highlights was meeting and making acquaintances with people from diversified backgrounds on a daily basis,” she said. “My team (BIO) was so supportive and was honestly the best team I had seen at the Olympics Broadcasting Unit (biased). I still hang out with the members of my team to this day! Working across the two hockey fields brought so much thrill because I could watch both men and ladies’ games as I carried my duties, which included being in close proximity with the athletes.” In the video clips, we hear from Michiko Matsuda, who has been volunteering ever since she moved from Japan to Australia to study. She spent 10 years in Australia working and playing hockey and now, after a hugely impressive ‘performance’ as a volunteer at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Michiko is a permanent volunteer with the Japanese Hockey Association. She combines volunteering with a full-time job in finance. ‘I was Team Liaison volunteer but then I became Team Liaison Manager so I was in charge of managing 40 Team Liaison volunteers. My aim was to get everyone to work as a team but I also wanted to help the volunteers achieve their own dreams.’ Michiko also galvinised the team of volunteers throughout the stadium into cheering each team as they took to the pitch using each nation’s favourite chant. And so, when Australia stepped onto the pitch they were greeted with the familiar sound of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi’! The second video introduces Yoko Aoshima who was a member of the team who greeted international delegates as they visited the Oi Hockey Stadium. ‘[Covid] meant it was a hard time at the start of the Olympic Games with a lot of nervousness in the local population. But within three days people were waving and asking about the Games. That is the power of sport. People were realising what the athletes had been through and there was a change in the atmosphere and people knew this was the right thing.’ ‘I was always a big fan of the Olympics and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the Olympics coming to Tokyo and I didn’t want to miss it.’ Four months on and Yoko is part of a WhatsApp group with many other volunteers and they are planning a reunion event. She was also the creative force behind the volunteers ‘pin badge’. While there were few opportunities to swap these in Tokyo, Yoko hopes to take her volunteering skills and her pin badges to Paris 2024. Bruce Danbury of Great Britain is a well-known character pitch-side at hockey events, where – over the course if three Olympic Games and countless other international and national matches – he works as Field of Play Manager. But, as he explains, the Tokyo Games were unlike anything he had experienced before. ‘I assumed until the last minute I wouldn’t be at Tokyo, but I was lucky enough to be one of three international volunteers working on a sports specific role at the hockey venue. ‘The stadium was just fantastic, easy access, huge changing rooms, two fantastic pitches. The standard of play by both athletes and officials was the best I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine what it is like to be an athlete at that level, but watching them and realising the journey they had been on leading up to the Games but the level of emotion for both winners and losers was so intense. ‘Some of that fortnight was really lonely,’ says Bruce. ‘You ate by yourself, you jumped on a bus, you stayed in a bubble. There were lots of people but we were all isolated. But on the other hand, everyone was so friendly, so helpful and all the other volunteers were also super helpful. The highs were really high, and the lows were just a bit lonely.’ Yoko, Michiko, Bongekile and Bruce are just four shining examples from the thousands of people who give their time to volunteer within our sport. Listed below are volunteers from the five continental federations and the awards and recognition they are receiving is not solely for these people but in honour of volunteers everywhere. FIH International Volunteer Day award winners European Hockey Federation In the image (L to R): Björn Isberg, Barbara Morgan, Doctor Katja Van Oostveldt and Professor Dr. Udo Rolle The EHF ran an astonishing 25 EuroHockey events during 2021, working through the various Covid restrictions to bring hockey in an entertaining but safe manner to athletes across the continent. This would not have been possible without the thoughtful work of the EHF Covid Panel – Dr Katja Van Oostveldt (BEL), Professor Dr. Udo Rolle (GER), Björn Isberg (SWE), Sylvie Petitjean (FRA) and Barbara Morgan (SCO). In the image (on the left): Sylvie Petitjean In a statement from the EHF, special mention goes to Dr Katja Van Oostveldt (BEL) and Professor

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