LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- England and Great Britain men's and women's teams to participate in new and unique global hockey League 

- Competition officially named as the 'Hockey Pro League' 

- Packed stadiums across the world to welcome hockey home 

- New league designed to 'fuel the growth of hockey for years to come' 

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has confirmed that England and Great Britain's men's and women's national teams will participate in the Hockey Pro League, a unique global international team-sport league.

     (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/521797/FIH_Logo.jpg )

The new league, which is due to launch in January 2019, will see the nine best men's and women's teams from around the world play each other both at home and away every year, across a total of 144 games. The fixtures will take place in national stadiums, week in, week out, from January to June.  

As the Hockey Pro League will provide teams with a way of qualifying for the Olympics, both the England men's and women's teams will become Great Britain in the two years prior to the Olympic Games.

England/Great Britain women will be up against Argentina, Australia, China, Germany, India, Netherlands, New Zealand and USA. England/Great Britain men will take on Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, India, Netherlands, New Zealand and Pakistan, the latter playing their home matches in Scotland.

Winners of the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup (playing as Great Britain) and bronze medalists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, England men are a team that has huge ambitions to get into podium positions at major hockey events. Currently ranked seventh in the FIH Hero World Rankings, at both the Hockey World Cup in 2014 and the EuroHockey Nations in 2015, England finished fourth.

England women won the EuroHockey Championships in 2015 and a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Playing as Great Britain, they won gold at the Rio Olympics and moved to second in the world rankings as a result.

The confirmation of teams follows approval from the FIH Executive Board. Their decision was based on recommendations from the FIH Event Portfolio Implementation Panel (EPIP) who were tasked with assessing each of the candidate applications against defined participation criteria.

Speaking about this news, FIH CEO Jason McCracken said: "We are delighted to announce the official name and teams who will participate in this game-changing new competition. Whilst world tours and single venue international leagues are played regularly, this is arguably the first of its kind, with national teams playing one-off matches both home and away in venues across the world over six months each year. The Hockey Pro League has been four years in the making and follows an excessive consultation and evaluation process."

He continued: "We strongly believe that this new competition will fuel the growth of our sport for many years to come, significantly increasing revenues for hockey. As a result it will make hockey a career choice for athletes who will regularly be given the opportunity to perform in big, bold, packed and loud venues both in their homeland and overseas. It will also allow fans to engage with more world-class hockey more often, whether on TV or live at their national venue. We now look forward to working on delivering a truly exceptional League whilst also ensuring we raise the standard and profile of our other international competitions across all levels of the sport."

FIH President, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra added: "The Hockey Pro League represents the first major milestone for the Hockey Revolution. It embodies everything our 10-year strategy aims to achieve - making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation. Whilst only nine teams have been selected for each League, the quality of information and enthusiasm shown by those who missed out indicates that our sport is developing in an extremely positive way, which clearly shows that hockey has an exciting future ahead."

News about broadcast partners, schedules and other exciting news, plus further background information about the Hockey Pro League, will be published on FIH.ch over the coming months as well as via FIH Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Hockey Pro League FAQ: http://www.fih.ch/news
Download Official Launch Videos: http://bit.ly/2rZjV7V

INTERVIEWS
For interviews with the FIH CEO, please contact:
PHA Media
fih@pha-media.com
+44-7867-451-659
+44-7492-802-288

About the International Hockey Federation (FIH)
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the world governing body for the sport of hockey, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Founded in 1924, FIH today has 137 member National Associations. For more information on the Hockey Revolution, visit: fih.ch/inside-fih/our-strategy.

National Association contact:
England and Great Britain Hockey
Craig Mortimer-Zhika, Communications Manager
Craig.Mortimer-Zhika@englandhockey.co.uk
www.englandhockey.co.uk
+44-7988-620-992

SOURCE International Hockey Federation (FIH)