India to host men's Hockey World Cup in 2018
The FIH Hockey World Cup trophy
As per the announcement of FIH, India will be hosting the men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018. On the other hand, England will be hosting the women’s World Cup. After undergoing a new and exhaustive process of bid evaluation, India and England were declared as the hosts for the men’s and women’s Hockey World Cup 2018 respectively.
On Thursday evening, the names of the host nations for the Hockey World Cup 2018 were announced at a special ceremony at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland by the FIH President Leandro Negre.
The FIH Chief Executive Officer Kelly Fairweather talked about the high standard of the bid. Ultimately, it was England Hockey and Hockey India who bagged the event with their highly impressive bids.
Earlier, it was requested by FIH to submit the bid questionnaires before a deadline of 31st August.
In order to confirm the development and growing interest of the sport, the 2018 edition of the Hockey World Cup will involve participation of 16 nations in both men’s and women’s tournament.
The 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup will be organized in The Hague, Netherlands. This World Cup will be held during the first two weeks of June in 2014 and will feature the participation of 12 Men’s as well as 12 Women’s nations.
The Hockey World Cup is held once in every four years with intent to bring together the world’s greatest players and nations for the most competitive international hockey event.
The very first Hockey World Cup was hosted by Spain in Barcelona in 1971.
The last edition was played in 2010 and was won by Australia while India has managed to secure only one World Cup title in 1975.