Lausanne, Switzerland: When the FIH Hockey5s World Cup was first proposed and accepted at the FIH Executive Board meeting in 2019, the purpose of the tournament was laid down as a tournament to “boost the development of hockey globally through the promotion of the FIH Hockey5s World Cup.”
Today, as we stand on the cusp of the inaugural edition of the FIH Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024 beginning tomorrow, 24 January, a big stride towards achieving the aim of creating the World Cup has already been made, as the event will already feature six nations who will be participating in their first ever FIH Hockey World Cup, across both genders and all formats!
From Oceania, the men’s and women’s teams from Fiji will be making their first ever appearance at an FIH Hockey World Cup. From Asia, it’ll be the men’s and women’s teams of Oman along with the women’s team of Thailand. From Africa, it’ll be the women’s team from Zambia. From the Americas, the Jamaican men’s team and the women’s team from Paraguay will represent their nations, in their first ever appearance at an FIH Hockey World Cup.
Hockey5s is a highly inclusive format, as it reduces the resources required to play the game at the highest level. This is particularly helpful for nations that have traditionally not been equipped with the resources, infrastructural and otherwise, required to practise outdoor hockey.
Speaking on the subject, Elvis Bwalya, General Secretary of the Zambia Hockey Association remarked, “We are very happy to see that the 5s format is gathering such momentum. We believe that this format will allow all wider sectors of the hockey family to participate in the world class tournaments. We are excited and hope we can engage better with schools in our country using this format and ensuring hockey continues and grows in Zambia.”
Pablo Mendoza, who has led the Paraguay women’s team to this historic qualification, said, “For countries where hockey is still on a developmental level, earning these types of opportunities causes an enormous positive impact in the growth of the sport. I think that FIH is going in the right direction with these efforts on Hockey5s, and it will help smaller nations to grow and to play with top hockey nations.”
Bae Young Wook, the South Korean coach of the Thailand women’s team that impressed everyone at the Asia Hockey5s Cup, qualifying in second place ahead of the traditionally strong Asian teams of Malaysia, Japan and Indonesia, said, “Hockey5s is very good for the development of hockey in Thailand since the amount of hockey players in the country is very small.”
The novelty of the Hockey5s format also allowed the use of a new qualifying system where three teams (per gender) qualified for the event from each continent, in addition to the hosts.
Duvaughn Henlon, head coach of the Jamaican men’s team said, “Playing numerous qualifiers for smaller nations to get to these major events is extremely expensive for us and to be able to participate in one qualifier with a shot at reaching a world cup event I thought was a game changer.”
The first ever participation in an FIH Hockey World Cup marks a significant milestone for the new entrants and is a fitting reward for their perseverance, despite the challenges faced over the years by the associations, communities and the players.
Hector Smith Sr, who has spent decades coaching hockey in Fiji, speaking on the men’s and women’s teams qualifying for the inaugural Hockey5s World Cup, said, “The journey to the World Cup is a testament to the years of sacrifice, hard work, and a commitment to a healthy lifestyle by our athletes. It sends a powerful message that with determination and perseverance, anything is possible. Despite facing challenges, including the closure of our hockey centre for nearly two years, we adapted to successfully achieve our objective. We express our sincere gratitude (Vinaka Vakalevu) to everyone who has supported us in this incredible journey.”
Elvis Bwalya also made a note of the pride the people of Zambia feel with their women’s team qualifying for the hockey5s World Cup, “Hockey is the second sport in our country where we have ever qualified for the world cup besides women’s football. We are really excited and enthralled to be part of the first of its kind women’s Hockey5s World Cup.”
For the hockey fans of Oman, after watching their nation host top level hockey tournaments over the past few years, the FIH Hockey5s World Cup will give them their first opportunity to cheer for their home teams in an international competition and the teams themselves are banking on their home support to lift them at the tournament. Sami Al Laun, captain of the Oman men’s team said, “We are very excited to play that big tournament in our life, and even more so since we are hosting it. I’m inviting all our fans to come and enjoy the matches. We need their support! I wish all the best to all teams!”
The FIH Hockey5s World Cup adds to the portfolio of the top tier international hockey tournaments hosted by the FIH which includes the FIH Hockey World Cups, FIH Indoor Hockey World Cups, FIH Junior Hockey World Cups, FIH Hockey Pro League and the FIH Hockey Nations Cup.
Jamaican Head Coach Duvaughn Henlon speaking on the addition of the Hockey5s World Cup to the existing events and formats, said, “This format of the game is fast, exciting and requires less resources. While I believe the 11-a-side format will be the main format for the sport, Hockey5s definitely has its place and is a game-changer for small nations like Jamaica that want to compete at the highest level with the limited available resources for now.”
The FIH Hockey5s World Cup will begin tomorrow, 24 January at 08:00 local time, as Australia take on Ukraine in the opening encounter of the women’s competition. There will be 15 more matches from the Women’s World Cup on opening day, as all 16 teams will play two of their pool matches on day 1. The men’s competition begins on 28 January, following the conclusion of the women’s tournament.
