Men's FIH Hockey World Cup
SportField hockey
Founded1971 (1971)
Inaugural season1971
No. of teams16
ContinentInternational (FIH)
Most recent
champion(s)
 Germany (3rd title)
(2023)
Most titles Pakistan (4 titles)
Official websitefih.hockey/world-cup

The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. Pakistan is the most successful team, having won the tournament four times. The Netherlands, Australia, and Germany have each won three titles. Belgium and India have both won the tournament once.

The 2023 tournament was held in Bhubaneswar, India from 13 to 29 January. Germany defeated Belgium in a penalty shoot-out 5–4 after the match ended in a 3–3 draw to win their third World Cup title. The World Cup expanded to 16 teams in 2018.[1]

History

The Hockey World Cup was first conceived by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan. He proposed his idea to the FIH through Patrick Rowley, the first editor of World Hockey magazine. Their idea was approved on 26 October 1969 and adopted by the FIH Council at a meeting in Brussels on 12 April 1970. The FIH decided that the inaugural World Cup would be held in October 1971, in Pakistan.

However, political issues would prevent that first competition from being played in Pakistan. The FIH had inadvertently scheduled the first World Cup to be played in Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Furthermore, Pakistan and India had been at war with each other only six years earlier. When Pakistan invited India to compete in the tournament, a crisis arose. Pakistanis, led by cricketer Abdul Hafeez Kardar, protested against India's participation in the Hockey World Cup.

Given the intense political climate between Pakistan and India, the FIH decided to move the tournament elsewhere. In March 1971, coincidentally in the same month Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan, the FIH decided to move the first Hockey World Cup to the Real Club de Polo grounds in Barcelona, Spain, which was considered a neutral and peaceful European site.[2]

The FIH has set no requirements or limitations on the size of the competition. The 1971 Cup included only ten nations, the smallest World Cup. The 1978 Cup featured fourteen nations. The 2002, 2018 and 2023 Cups featured sixteen nations. The remaining 10 World Cups have featured 12 nations.

The first three tournaments were held every two years. The 1978 Cup was the only tournament held three years from the previous one. It was halfway between the Summer Olympics hockey competition and has continued that way. In other words, the tournament has been held every four years ever since.

Trophy

The Hockey World Cup trophy was designed by the Bashir Moojid and created by the Pakistani Army. On 27 March 1971, in Brussels, the trophy was formally handed to FIH President Rene Frank by Mr H.E Masood, the Pakistani Ambassador to Belgium. The trophy consists of a silver cup with an intricate floral design, surmounted by a globe of the world in silver and gold, placed on a high blade base inlaid with ivory. At its peak is a model hockey stick and ball. Without its base, the trophy stands 120.85 mm (4.758 in) high. Including the base, the trophy stands 650 mm (26 in). It weighs 11,560 g (408 oz), including 895 g (31.6 oz) of gold, 6,815 g (240.4 oz) of silver, 350 g (12 oz) of ivory and 3,500 g (120 oz) of teak.[3]

Format

The Hockey World Cup consists of a qualification stage and a final tournament stage. The format for each stage is the same.

Qualification

The qualification stage has been a part of the Hockey World Cup since 1977. All participating teams play in the qualification round. The teams divide into two or more pools and compete for a berth in the final tournament. The top two teams are automatically qualified and the rest of the berths are decided in playoffs.

Final tournament

The final tournament features the continental champions and other qualified teams. Sometimes it also features the winners of the Summer Olympics' hockey competition or the continental runners-up. The teams divide into pools once more and play a round robin tournament. The composition of the pools is determined using the current FIH World Rankings.

Results

Summaries

Year Host Final Third place match Number of teams
Winner Score Runner-up Third place Score Fourth place
1971
Details
Barcelona, Spain
Pakistan
1–0
Spain

India
2–1
after extra time

Kenya
10
1973
Details
Amstelveen, Netherlands
Netherlands
2–2
(4–2)
penalty strokes

India

West Germany
1–0
Pakistan
12
1975
Details
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
India
2–1
Pakistan

West Germany
4–0
Malaysia
12
1978
Details
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Pakistan
3–2
Netherlands

Australia
4–3
West Germany
14
1982
Details
Bombay, India
Pakistan
3–1
West Germany

Australia
4–2
Netherlands
12
1986
Details
London, England
Australia
2–1
England

West Germany
3–2
after extra time

Soviet Union
12
1990
Details
Lahore, Pakistan
Netherlands
3–1
Pakistan

Australia
2–1
after extra time

West Germany
12
1994
Details
Sydney, Australia
Pakistan
1–1
(4–3)
penalty strokes

Netherlands

Australia
5–2
Germany
12
1998
Details
Utrecht, Netherlands
Netherlands
3–2
after extra time

Spain

Germany
1–0
Australia
12
2002
Details
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Germany
2–1
Australia

Netherlands
2–1
after extra time

South Korea
16
2006
Details
Mönchengladbach, Germany
Germany
4–3
Australia

Spain
3–2
after extra time

South Korea
12
2010
Details
New Delhi, India
Australia
2–1
Germany

Netherlands
4–3
England
12
2014
Details
The Hague, Netherlands
Australia
6–1
Netherlands

Argentina
2–0
England
12
2018
Details
Bhubaneswar, India
Belgium
0–0
(3–2)

penalty shootout

Netherlands

Australia
8–1
England
16
2023
Details
Bhubaneswar & Rourkela, India
Germany
3–3
(5–4)

penalty shootout

Belgium

Netherlands
3–1
Australia
16
2026
Details
Wavre, Belgium & Amstelveen, Netherlands 16

Successful national teams

Twenty seven teams have qualified for a Hockey World Cup. Of these, thirteen teams have made it to the semifinals. Eight teams have made it through to the finals.

To date, the most successful teams are Pakistan, with four titles from six final appearances, the Netherlands, with three titles from seven final appearances, Germany and Australia with three titles from five final appearances, while India and Belgium won their lone titles in 1975 and 2018, respectively.

Below is a list of teams that have finished in the top four positions in the tournament:

Teams reaching the top four
TeamChampionsRunners-upThird placeFourth place
 Pakistan 4 (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994) 2 (1975, 1990*) 1 (1973)
 Netherlands 3 (1973*, 1990, 1998*) 4 (1978, 1994, 2014*, 2018) 3 (2002, 2010, 2023) 1 (1982)
 Australia 3 (1986, 2010, 2014) 2 (2002, 2006) 5 (1978, 1982, 1990, 1994*, 2018) 2 (1998, 2023)
 Germany^ 3 (2002, 2006*, 2023) 2 (1982, 2010) 4 (1973, 1975, 1986, 1998) 3 (1978, 1990, 1994)
 India 1 (1975) 1 (1973) 1 (1971)
 Belgium 1 (2018) 1 (2023)
 Spain 2 (1971*, 1998) 1 (2006)
 England 1 (1986*) 3 (2010, 2014, 2018)
 Argentina 1 (2014)
 South Korea 2 (2002, 2006)
 Kenya 1 (1971)
 Malaysia 1 (1975*)
 Soviet Union# 1 (1986)
* = host country
^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1971 and 1990
# = states that have since split into two or more independent countries

Performance by host nations

Nine nations have hosted the Hockey World Cup. Only the Netherlands (1973 and 1998) and Germany (2006) have won the tournament as hosts. Spain, England, and Pakistan emerged as host runners-up in the 1971, 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Australia placed third when it hosted the 1994 tournament in Sydney.

Performance by continental zones

To date, the finals of the Hockey World Cup have been contested by Asian, European and Oceania continental teams. European teams have won the most with six titles, followed by Asian teams with five titles. Australia is the only team from Oceania to win the tournament. Neither the Americas nor Africa have ever won the title.

Continent Best performance
Europe 7 titles, won by the Netherlands (3), Germany (3) and Belgium (1)
Asia 5 titles, won by Pakistan (4) and India (1)
Oceania 3 titles, won by Australia
Americas Third place (Argentina, 2014)
Africa Fourth place (Kenya, 1971)

Team appearances

Team Spain
1971
Netherlands
1973
Malaysia
1975
Argentina
1978
India
1982
England
1986
Pakistan
1990
Australia
1994
Netherlands
1998
Malaysia
2002
Germany
2006
India
2010
Netherlands
2014
India
2018
India
2023
Belgium
Netherlands
2026
Total
 Argentina 10th9th11th8th12th6th9th7th6th10th7th3rd7th9th14
 Australia 8th5th3rd3rd1st3rd3rd4th2nd2nd1st1st3rd4th14
 Belarus Part of the Soviet Union12th1
 Belgium 8th14th11th14th5th1st2ndQ8
 Canada 11th10th11th8th11th11th6
 Chile 15th1
 China 10th1
 Cuba 16th1
 England 6th6th7th8th2nd5th6th6th7th5th4th4th4th5th14
 France 7th7th8th13th4
 Germany^ 5th3rd3rd4th2nd3rd4th4th3rd1st1st2nd6th5th1st15
 Ghana 12th1
 India 3rd2nd1st6th5th12th10th5th9th10th11th8th9th6th9th15
 Ireland 12th12th14th3
 Italy 13th1
 Japan 9th10th12th9th15th5
 Kenya 4th12th2
 Malaysia 11th4th10th10th11th8th12th15th13th9
 Netherlands 6th1st9th2nd4th7th1st2nd1st3rd7th3rd2nd2nd3rdQ16
 New Zealand 7th7th7th9th10th9th8th9th7th9th7th11
 Pakistan 1st4th2nd1st1st11th2nd1st5th5th6th12th12th13
 Poland 10th9th8th8th12th15th6
 South Africa 10th13th12th10th11th16th11th7
 South Korea 8th7th4th4th6th10th8th7
 Soviet Union# 6th4th6thDefunct3
 Spain 2nd5th8th5th11th5th8th9th2nd11th3rd5th8th13th6th15
 Wales 11th1
Total10121214121212121216121212161616
^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1971 and 1990
# = states that have since split into two or more independent nations

Germany, India, the Netherlands and Spain are the only teams to have competed at each World Cup; 27 teams have competed in at least one World Cup.

Debut of teams

Year Debuting teams Successor and
renamed teams
Teams No. CT
1971  Argentina,  Australia,  France,  India,  Japan,  Kenya,  Netherlands,  Pakistan,  Spain,  West Germany^ 10 10
1973  Belgium,  England,  New Zealand,  Malaysia 4 14
1975  Ghana,  Poland 2 16
1978  Canada,  Ireland,  Italy 3 19
1982  Soviet Union# 1 20
1986 0 20
1990 0 20
1994  Belarus#,  South Africa,  South Korea 3 23  Germany
1998 0 23
2002  Cuba 1 24
2006 0 24
2010 0 24
2014 0 24
2018  China 1 25
2023  Wales,  Chile 2 27
^ = Germany is a successor of West Germany and not a separate team.
# = Belarus was a part of Soviet Union but not successor, hence Belarus is a new separate entity.

Total number of teams which have participated in the World Cups through 2018 is 25, using FIH's view on successor teams

See also

References

  1. "World Cup field to expand to 16 teams in 2018". FIH. 2012-11-01. Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
  2. "World Cup Hockey". Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2006-08-02.
  3. "The World Cup — A Masterpiece". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
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