FIH World Series to debut in 2012 - Invitations sent by the federation for participation
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has advanced towards the preparation of their next key competition, the FIH World League that is all set to make its debut in 2012.
The FIH is offering the opportunity to compete for qualifying a place in the FIH World Cup or the Olympic Games to each of their members. During the term of 2012-13, this league will qualify four teams directly into the FIH World Cup 2014, which is to be
held in The Hague, Netherlands.
For availing such a tremendous option, the invitation letters have been sent to all FIH members and the last date to register the participation in World League is April 1, 2011.
This league, formerly referred as World Series, will consist of four rounds. Among these, two rounds shall be played in the 2012 calendar year whereas the rest two shall fall in 2013 to finish off the series. This event is inclusive of both Men and Women
hockey teams.
The hockey teams (Men and Women) that stand 1st-8th in the FIH World Ranking shall automatically be eligible to play Round Three. Whereas, the teams placed in the next tier (9th-16th) shall receive an automatic bye to Round Two. Each
level of the World League shall award FIH World Ranking points. The details relevant to these points will be announced at a later date. However, teams qualifying for Round 3 and Round 4 according to the FIH World ranking are described as:
Teams Ranked 1-8 (Qualified for Round 3)
Men:
Germany, Pakistan, New Zealand, Netherlands, Spain, Australia, England and Korea
Women:
Netherlands, China, Argentina, Germany, Australia, Korea, New Zealand and England
Teams Ranked 9-16 (Qualified for Round 2)
Men:
Japan, China, Argentina, South Africa, Malaysia, Canada, India and Belgium
Women:
Spain, Chile, Japan, USA, India, Ireland, South Africa and Azerbaijan
The number of entries from the member countries will decide the number of tournaments in Round One. This means every nation has a chance to head to the World Cup and/or Olympics, which makes the World League distinctive from the other qualifier rounds.
The FIH Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kelly Fairweather said, “We have long wanted to start an international competition that goes over multiple rounds and gives every nation a change to reach our elite events. With the World League, we have just that.”
Further he stated, “It has long been the ambition of the FIH to give every country a chance to make it to the highest possible level. The World League gives the smaller nations valuable international experience, while allowing them to have the chance to
play the role of David against some of the Goliath countries.”
The FIH will closely be organising these tournaments with the assistance of its Five Continental Federations. It is planned to commence the First Round in a much local place to steer clear of heavy travel cost burdens. The teams qualifying the Round two
will automatically join the 9th-16th ranked nation teams.
A total of eight teams will skim out from Round Two, making their way towards the Round Three among the top-ranked nation, which formerly had automatically qualified this round. Then these 16 teams shall play in two groups of eight.
In the Fall of 2013, the final two rounds will be held and the champion team will win its title in the final round. The number of teams that qualified will be evaluated by considering the fact that whether the host team made it through the qualification
process or not.
Tags: