Sports Bulletin Report
Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced that the draw ceremony and the draw for the pools of the next FIH Hockey Women's World Cup Spain and the Netherlands 2022 will be held on 17 February, at the facilities of the Museu Nacional de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya (MNACTEC), in Terrassa, Spain. The draw will define the pools of the pinnacle of the FIH women’s tournaments, which will be held from 1 to 17 July 2022 and involve 16 participating national teams.
Those include Spain and the Netherlands, as hosts of the competition, whilst Belgium, England, Germany and Ireland are the other European teams. Africa is represented by South Africa, recent winners of the Africa Cup of Nations. From Asia, the four following teams have qualified: China, India, Japan and Korea. Argentina, Canada and Chile are the three American teams having booked their ticket for the prestigious tournament, while Australia and New Zealand, from Oceania, complete the draw.
The draw will be conducted by FIH CEO Thierry Weil, accompanied by Spanish international player Berta Bonastre as well as coach – and former international player - Santi Freixa. The Olympic Stadium of the Catalan town and the Wagener Stadion of the Dutch capital area will host the matches of the group stages and the cross-overs, with the semifinals and the final taking place exclusively in Terrassa. In the last edition, in 2018, the Netherlands claimed the title by winning the final against Ireland, while Spain achieved third place.
