Sports Bulletin Report
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (October 11, 2021):-The Season 3 of the FIH Hockey Pro League will get underway with defending champions and reigning Olympic, World and European title holders the Netherlands taking on Belgium at the Wagener Stadium on the outskirts of Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Alyson Annan’s all conquering team were the winners of both the first and second editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League, and will be looking for a hat-trick of titles in Season 3 as they bid to continue their near total dominance of the women’s game.
Wednesday’s Netherlands versus Belgium women’s clash will be followed by a women’s and men’s double header in Brussels, with Belgium’s Red Panthers and Red Lions – the latter being the Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020 and reigning FIH Hockey Pro League title holders – welcoming the international teams of Germany on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 October.
Coming back to the opening match of this year’s competition, it promises to be a hugely entertaining encounter. The Netherlands have clear superiority in their recent head-to-heads, winning 15 of their 18 matches with Belgium claiming two wins and a draw. The Dutch have won all four of their previous FIH Hockey Pro League matches and were also winners when the two teams met in the EuroHockey Championships semi-finals earlier this year, with the Oranje going on to win the title and Belgium claiming the bronze medal.
With very few players having announced their retirement post Tokyo, Annan’s hugely talented squad remains very much intact. Seven of Annan’s gold medal winning team will be involved in the contest against Belgium including captain Eva de Goede and Lidewij Welten, who bring vast experience to a squad containing three uncapped players in the shape of Marente Barentsen (Hurley), Joosje Burg (Den Bosch) and Sabine Plönissen (Amsterdam). With a further eight players each having less than 20 caps, legendary former Australia attacker Annan is making full use of the opportunity to look at the potential stars of the future.
Belgium – coached by revered Dutchman Raoul Ehren, who guided Den Bosch women to unprecedented club success both in the Netherlands and Europe – will come into their contest against the Netherlands keen to make a big impression. The bronze medal achieved at June’s EuroHockey Championships came thanks to a 3-1 victory over Spain, with Barbara Nelen, Abi Raye and Ambre Ballenghien all on target for the Red Panthers. All three have been named in Belgium’s 32 player squad for FIH Hockey Pro League Season 3, with additional experience and quality coming from the likes of Alix Gerniers, Louise Versavel, Emma Puvrez and ace goalkeeper Aisling D’Hooghe.
The matches will be available to watch via television or digital streaming thanks to our broadcast partnerships, as well as on the Watch. Hockey app in every country where a rights holding broadcaster is not showing the matches live.
