SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT
Lausanne, Switzerland (September 17, 2021)International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the match schedule of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Belgium 2022, which will be held in the Country Hall of Liège on 2-6 February next year. Today’s event was attended by FIH CEO Thierry Weil, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Minister Valérie Glatigny, Liège Province Vice-President Katty Firquet, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Administration General Manager Alain Laitat and Royal Belgian Hockey Association President Patrick Keusters, amongst others.
Following the announcement by Hockey Australia and Hockey New Zealand that they will unfortunately no longer be able to participate due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments, the Oceania representatives have been replaced by Namibia and USA (Men) as well as Canada and South Africa (Women). These four teams have been invited by FIH based on each being the runners up in the recently held African and Pan American Indoor Championships, with a view to maintaining a balance between the number of participating teams per continent.
The Women’s national teams of Czech Republic and Kazakhstan will open the show on 2 February, whilst the Men’s and Women’s Finals will be played on 6 February.
FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “With no less than 80 international matches played in 5 days, the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup provides a particularly intense and exciting spectacle! On behalf of FIH, I’d like to wholeheartedly thank the local authorities as well as the Royal Belgian Hockey Association for all their efforts to put together an event which undoubtedly will offer a wonderful experience to athletes and fans alike!”
Hockey Belgium CEO Serge Pilet said: “We are extremely happy that we can kick off this organisation at last, after very difficult months. Being able to announce a world class event like the Indoor Hockey World Cup in Belgium, is really an important milestone for us. And with our Olympic gold medal still fresh in the memories of the Belgian sports fans, we are convinced we will be able to attract new spectators to discover our beautiful sport in its indoor version. See you all in February in Liège!”
This will be the sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup. Indoor hockey’s flagship event will see 12 teams compete in the men's and women's competitions respectively. Germany women and Austria men won the last edition, which took place in 2018 in Berlin, Germany.
