Sports Bulletin Report
BIRMINGHAM:-Pakistan will meet South Africa in their opening fixture of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, as International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the schedule on Wednesday, as hosts England’s men’s and women’s teams will both face Ghana in their opening match and have group games against India, Canada and Wales
Both the women’s and the men’s competitions will begin on Friday 29 July, with the opening session of the women’s tournament featuring reigning champions New Zealand against Kenya and South Africa playing Scotland. Hosts, England, will face Ghana in the first match of the men’s competition with New Zealand facing Scotland in the same session.
There will be 54 hockey matches in total, with 40 group games, six classification matches, four semi-finals, four medal matches and all of these matches will be played at the University of a Birmingham, the official competition venue for hockey at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 20 hockey teams taking part in the Games will also use the University of Birmingham’s world-class hockey facilities for training until competition gets underway and then the teams will be able to make use of the newly upgraded pitch at Wyndley Leisure Centre in Sutton Coldfield for training.
Matt Kidson, Director of Sport for Birmingham 2022, said:
“We are excited to be unveiling the official hockey match schedule today as it brings us another step closer to the start of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. It’s going to be an exciting tournament with an impressive line-up of teams, featuring all of the medallists from the last edition of the Commonwealth Games.
Pool A: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Scotland
Pool B: India, England, Wales, Canada, Ghana,
Schedule (Men’s Hockey):
July 29, 2022: England vs Ghana, New Zealand vs Scotland
July 30, 2022: South Africa vs Pakistan, Canada vs Wales
July 31, 2022: New Zealand vs Pakistan, Australia vs Scotland, England vs Wales, India vs Ghana
August 1, 2022: Scotland vs South Africa, England vs India, Canada vs Ghana, New Zealand vs Australia
August 3, 2022: Canada vs India, Wales vs Ghana, Pakistan vs Scotland, South Africa vs Australia
August 4, 2022: India vs Wales, Canada vs England, South Africa vs New Zealand, Australia vs Pakistan
August 6, 2022: Semifinals
August 7, 2022: Final