FIH withdraws Olympic hockey Qualifiers from Pakistan, new host to be announced soon

Lausanne (Switzerland), Sep 13 (IANS) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) will soon announce a new host for one of the three Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers after withdrawing the hosting rights from Pakistan.

The FIH was on Tuesday withdrew the men’s Olympic qualifier from Pakistan because of issues related to the Pakistan Hockey Federation.

“FIH can confirm that it has informed the Pakistan Hockey Federation of its decision to withdraw the hosting of the Men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier tournament – scheduled in January 2024 – from Pakistan. This is primarily due to the recent developments in the governance situation of the Federation.

“A new host for this tournament will be announced shortly. The other qualifiers will be staged in China and Spain as announced in July,” the global hockey governing body said in a statement.

Pakistan was to host the men’s Olympic qualifiers early next year along with China and Spain. The Olympic qualifiers could have been the first major international hockey event in Pakistan since the Champions Trophy in 2004.

The top 3 teams in each of the three FIH Hockey Olympic Qualification Tournaments will qualify for Paris 2024. They will join hosts France as well as the winners of each Continental Championship (African Hockey Road to Paris, Pan American Games, Asian Games, EuroHockey Championship and Oceania Cup).

Pakistan ranked 15 in the world, will need to secure victory in the Asian Games or await confirmation of their participation in qualifying matches held elsewhere.