England Hockey and Hockey Wales have at this time expressed disappointment that each nations is not going to get the chance to host a house World Cup after the Worldwide Hockey Federation (FIH) introduced that the FIH Hockey Males’s World Cup 2026 will happen in Netherlands and Belgium. They may even host the FIH Hockey Girls’s World Cup on the identical time.
The England and Wales joint bid would have seen a Finals Weekend happen at Tottenham Hotspur’s iconic 62,850 seat stadium with different pool and elimination matches going down on the Twickenham Stoop, cinch Stadium at Franklin Gardens in Northampton and Cardiff Arms Park in Wales as a part of Huge Stadium Hockey – revolutionary know-how which permits for worldwide commonplace taking part in surfaces to be quickly laid at stadiums.
The bid additionally included a dedication to ship a wide-ranging social affect and legacy programme to extend the attain of the game and open it as much as wider and extra numerous audiences throughout the UK.
England Hockey Chief Govt, Nick Pink stated:
“We’d prefer to congratulate Netherlands and Belgium and want them each success in internet hosting each tournaments in 2026. While we’re clearly disillusioned with the choice, we’re happy with our bid and the transformational alternatives it provided the game. I’d additionally prefer to placed on document England Hockey’s honest due to our bid companions who’ve supplied such sturdy help all through the 24 month course of. We’re all decided to take ahead the planning from our bid round social affect and legacy which can assist develop the sport and provides extra individuals from extra numerous communities the prospect to play and watch the game.”
Hockey Wales CEO Ria Burrage-Male, stated:
“We want to congratulate Netherlands and Belgium on their profitable bid. While we’re disillusioned, over the length of this journey we’ve got constructed glorious relationships with new companions and grown our nice relationship with England Hockey. We are going to proceed to focus our consideration on inspiring future generations, guaranteeing hockey is in everybody’s houses, and guaranteeing hockey is prospering in our faculties and communities.”
UK Sport Chair Katherine Grainger, stated:
“UK Sport want to take this chance to congratulate Netherlands and Belgium in successful the bid to host each the FIH Hockey Males’s World Cup and the Girls’s World Cup in 2026.
“We’re in fact disillusioned that followers throughout the UK gained’t have the prospect to look at world class hockey up shut, however we stay excited in regards to the potential of the Huge Stadium Hockey method for the game.”
The bid was developed and supported by twelve companions, with a collective want to make use of it as a drive for good each for the game and for wider social affect. The bid companions had been England Hockey, Hockey Wales, UK Sport, CSM Sport & Leisure, Better London Authority, Welsh Meeting Authorities, West Northamptonshire Council, Cardiff Council, Cardiff Rugby, Harlequins F.C. Northampton Saints and Tottenham Hotspur.
