Player registrations begin for Hockey India League

Hockey India has announced player registrations for the much-awaited Hockey India League on Friday.

The League is set to make its comeback, after an 8-year-long hiatus and will feature eight men's and six women's teams.

Additionally, Hockey India has also invited players from the top 15 hockey-playing nations to register their players and support staff for the upcoming season which will be held in the window sanctioned by FIH; the last week of December 2024 to the first week of February 2025.

Talking about the move, Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said," We are elated to open the player registration for the Hockey India League 2024-2025 edition. This step signifies that we are close to restarting the HIL, a league that was loved by hockey players and fans across the world. We are confident that budding Indian hockey players will snatch at the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world."

While the dates are not confirmed yet, things are expected to move faster after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"At the moment we are doing things that can be done easily. Things will move faster once we are done with the 2024 Paris Olympics and India's performance in Paris will play a crucial role in the revival of the Hockey India League," Hockey India secretary Bhola Nath Singh told The Bridge earlier last month.

A chance for former players and new coaches

Due to a lack of domestic tournaments and proper structure, Indian players who are out of national team contention struggle to find regular playing time barring a couple of departmental tournaments.

" If the departments had not kept the smaller tournaments alive, the hockey players would have struggled. But I am excited for the opportunity. I was part of the HIL team and it used to be an electrifying atmosphere," a former India player told The Bridge.

Apart from players, HIL will breathe life into the stagnant coaching system in India. With limited opportunities available in the country due to the lack of a domestic tournament, HIL will provide a platform for Indian coaches to be around the best in the world.

At the moment, India has a handful of FIH Level three coaches and with HIL coming in, it is expected that a new crop of Indian coaches will emerge.