Following Pakistan’s withdrawal from the competition, one of the men’s hockey Olympic qualifying matches will now be held in Oman.
After Pakistan’s national federation and the country’s Sports Board engaged in conflict, the international organisation (FIH) pulled the tournament from Pakistan, and one of the men’s hockey Olympic Qualifiers will now take place in Oman. The competition will take place in Muscat from January 15 to 21 of the following year, according to the International Hockey Federation. The other two FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers will be held in Spain (women’s and men’s – January 13–21) and China (women’s – January 15–21, 2024).
The International Hockey Federation announced that it had decided to withdraw one of the Men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers from Pakistan due to recent developments in the governance situation of the Pakistan Hockey Federation. As a result, Oman, an Asian country that had previously expressed interest in bidding at an early stage, will now host the competition.
Through these Olympic Qualifiers, for which the competing teams from Oceania and Europe are already known, six women’s teams and as many men’s teams will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
By winning the 2023 Oceania Cup and the 2023 EuroHockey Championships, respectively, Australia and the Netherlands (men’s and women’s) joined the hosts France in securing their spots in the Paris Games.
The remaining teams qualifying for next year’s Olympics directly (3 women’s teams and 3 men’s teams), as well as the teams competing in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, will be determined by the Asian Games, which are currently taking place in Hangzhou, China, as well as the upcoming Pan American Games and African Hockey Road to Paris tournament.
Next year, the hockey competition at the Olympics in Paris will run from July 27 to August 9.
