LAUSANNE: Pakistan, alongside Spain and China will co-host the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, scheduled to take place from 13 to 21 January 2024, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Monday.
As per the statement released by the FIH, China and Spain will co-host the Women’s Qualifiers while Pakistan and Spain will co-host the Men’s tournament.
Each tournament will consist of eight teams – 16 teams per gender in total. The Women’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers will feature four teams from Asia, eight from Europe, one from Oceania and three from Pan America.
The Men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, on the other hand, will feature one team each from Africa and Oceania, five from Asia, seven from Europe and two from Pan America.
“The teams filling each quota, and therefore invited to participate, will be based on their performance at the Continental Championships taking place in 2023,” said FIH in a statement.
“The top 3 teams in each of these FIH Hockey Olympic Qualification Tournaments will qualify for Paris 2024. They will join hosts France as well as the winners of each Continental Championship (African Hockey Road to Paris, Pan American Games, Asian Games, EuroHockey Championship and Oceania Cup),” the statement added.
Notably, the Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 will mark Pakistan hosting its first FIH event since 2004.
Reacting to obtaining the hosting rights of the Paris Olympics Qualifiers, Secretary General of the Pakistan Hockey Federation Syed Haider Hussain termed it an honour for the country and vowed to host the event in a grand manner.
“It is an honour to host the FIH event,” said Hussain. This event will prove to be the stepping stone in the return of the golden era of hockey in Pakistan.
“We will host the event in a grand manner. We are hopeful that the fans fill in the stadiums just like they did in the 1990 World Cup,” he concluded.
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