India gets an international every year in FIH's calendar

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) The 2018 men’s World Cup will complete a four-year cycle for India during which it will host a major International Hockey Federation (FIH) tournament every year, including the 2016 men’s junior World Cup.

The FIH, during an event at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday unveiled its tournament calendar for the 2015-2018 cycle, during which India will also host the 2015 and 2017 editions of men’s Hockey World League Finals to be held in December.

But the prized trophy for Hockey India (HI) will be the 2018 Hockey World Cup that India will host for the second time in eight years.

India first hosted the showpiece event in 1982 in Mumbai where Pakistan emerged the champion.

The 2010 World Cup was also hosted by India as part of test events for that year’s Commonwealth Games and it was won by Australia.

The 2018 women’s tournament in England is scheduled to take place July 7-21 and the men’s event will be held later in India Dec 1-16.

“I wish to offer my sincere congratulations to England Hockey and Hockey India on their successful bids to host the Hockey World Cups 2018,” said FIH president Leandro Negre.

“The quality of both bids was truly extraordinary, and the FIH is greatly looking forward to bringing its top properties to England and India. I would also like to congratulate all the national associations that submitted bids for these events. The standard was exceptionally high, making the decision extremely hard for the FIH Executive Board,” he added.

Alongside the Olympic Games, the Hockey World Cups are the most coveted tournaments. Held every four years, they bring together the world’s greatest teams and most skilful players for the toughest, most competitive international hockey event imaginable.

Both the men’s and women’s Hockey World Cups will feature an increased 16-nation field of participants. Next year’s hugely anticipated Rabobank Hockey World Cup, which takes place in the Hague, Netherlands, during the first two weeks of June, will see 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing in a mammoth double event.

“The decision certainly was not an easy one to make. All the bids that we received were exceptional, being completely in line with our strategy to deliver the most entertaining, exciting and inspiring hockey events in the world. The FIH Executive Board were hugely impressed by the bids from England Hockey and Hockey India,” said FIH Chief Executive Officer Kelly Fairweather.

The FIH has been meticulous in its approach to choosing the hosts for the 2018 showpiece events. As part of the bidding process, the FIH requested that bid questionnaires were submitted before a deadline of Aug 31.

The second phase of the process saw each bid evaluated in detail, as well as further discussions, clarifications, site visits and negotiations taking place with the respective national association.