England Hockey is delighted to confirm that – in partnership with Hockey Wales, and our bid partners – we have submitted a bid to host the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2026.
We look forward to working with both the FIH and our partners and sharing more information on the bid itself in the coming weeks.
The event involves sixteen teams, and if the bid is successful it would be the first Hockey Men’s World Cup staged on these shores since 1986. The Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup took place in London in 2018 and at the time was the biggest standalone women’s sporting event the country had ever seen.
The hosts of the 2026 World Cup will be decided by the FIH Executive Board on 3 November 2022 and announced at the FIH Congress which will be held virtually on 4-5 November.
The next FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup will be played in July 2022 in Spain and the Netherlands, whilst the next FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup will take place in January 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India. Both competitions will showcase the best hockey nations in the world, with England qualifying for both competitions, and Wales competing in the men’s competition for the first time.