Oman preferred over India to host inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup

The Executive Board of the FIH on Thursday picked Oman to host the inaugural Hockey5s World Cups (Men and Women) to be played in January 2024 as India and Pakistan failed to get the nod.

Matches will take place in Oman's capital city Muscat, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement. FIH had also received bids from India, Pakistan and Singapore to host this event.

The Hockey5s' flagship event is a brand-new FIH competition. Sixteen teams per gender (3 per continent + Oman as hosts) will take part in this first edition. Continental Hockey5s qualifiers for the World Cup will be organized in 2022.

"We're looking forward to a wonderful inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Oman. This surely will be a great boost for the promotion of hockey both in the country and in the whole region," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said. "We're convinced that Hockey5s will play a key role in the growth of hockey worldwide. This is why this World Cup has been created, as well as a Hockey5s World Tour which we are currently working on."

In 2019, the FIH Executive Board decided to create an FIH Hockey5s World Cup, with a view to further boosting the development of the game globally through the promotion of its 5-a-side format. Played in about 70 countries in the world, Hockey5s was the most attended sport at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. PTI PDS PDS KHS KHS