The FIH Hockey World Cups for men and women will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026. Matches will be played at a stadium that has not yet been constructed in Wavre, Belgium, as well as in Amstelveen, close to the Amsterdamse Bos, during the two events that will take place concurrently.
The International Hockey Federation stated that both venues will host national games for both the men’s and women’s teams (FIH). In an effort to ensure a large attendance, at least one Belgian or Dutch side will play a match each day of the competition, according to the FIH.
The board of the FIH granted Belgium and the Netherlands the opportunity to host the competition, which was acknowledged by the Dutch hockey association, KNHB. “Both organizations are happy and proud of this decision,” the organization said. At both venues for each day of the competition, the two associations intend to create a festival atmosphere with a hockey theme.
The only other nation to simultaneously bid for both tournaments was South Africa. Germany also submitted a joint candidacy for the men’s tournament with England and Wales, though Germany later withdrew.
Both Uruguay and Australia submitted bids for the women’s competition. According to FIH CEO Thierry Weil, “We received fantastic offers, and consequently, it was an extremely tough task to pick.”
The National Associations of the Netherlands and Belgium, the current women’s and men’s world and Olympic champions, respectively, “will definitely put together fantastic world cups,” and we are very much looking forward to working with them!
The Dutch women’s team will defend its title. They defeated Argentina in the World Cup final earlier this summer in Terrassa, Spain, and won it. Additionally, the Netherlands hosted some of the 2022 competitions.
In January 2023, the Dutch men’s squad will compete in the World Cup for the first time. The locations of that event are the Indian cities of Rourkela and Bhubaneswar. The tournament, which involves teams from 16 different nations, will begin with the Dutch team in the quarterfinals.
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