As Bhubaneswar holds current hosting rights of February's India leg of Pro League
KOLKATA: The Indian men's and women's hockey teams will open their campaigns in the 2024-25 edition of FIH Pro League in February next year at home. Although Bhubaneswar has been marked as the host city for now, it might be changed later on.
During the mini tournament in India, the men's team will take on Spain, England, Germany and Ireland while the women's team will face off against Germany, Spain, England and the Netherlands. Like the earlier seasons, the teams will face off twice against each other during the event which will go on from February 15-25.
As for the remaining matches, the Indian men's team will play theirs in Amsterdam and Antwerp while the women's team will play in London, Antwerp and Berlin in June.
It's important to note that the Indian men's team had finished seventh and the women's team eighth during the last season and they will be looking to put up a better show this time around, especially since the winners will get direct qualification for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Netherlands-Belgium.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Indian men's team captain Harmanpreet Singh said in a statement, "What makes this season particularly special for us is that the winners of this season will secure a direct qualification for the men's and women's FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, adding even more motivation to our campaign."
As far as the other participating teams are concerned, the Ireland men's team will keep their place in the tournament this season despite finishing at the bottom during the last season after New Zealand and France decided against competing. The Black Sticks had won the Nations Cup last year and France finished as runners-up.
In the women's section, the winners of the Nations Cup 2024, Spain, will rejoin Pro League, after a first spell in the 2021-22 season where they finished fifth. They're replacing the US, who were relegated after finishing last in the preceding season.
Furthermore, besides Ireland all the participating teams will host matches this time which wasn't the case in the last two seasons. Although India will be in action in February, the tournament will begin in November where the Netherlands and Germany will play the opener in the men's section while China and Belgium will face off in the women's section, in Amsterdam and Hangzhou respectively.
