Belgium, Netherlands to host 2026 men’s and women’s hockey World Cups

The combined event will take place in July or August, 2026, in Amsterdam and Wavre with women’s and men’s teams playing in both venues.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: The proposed format for the match schedule has one local team, Belgium or the Netherlands, playing each day in order to draw more spectators. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT

Belgium and the Netherlands will jointly host the 2026 hockey women’s and men’s World Cups simultaneously, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) executive board decided on Thursday.

The combined event will take place in July or August in Amsterdam and Wavre with women’s and men’s teams playing in both venues.

The proposed format for the match schedule has one local team, Belgium or the Netherlands, playing each day in order to draw more spectators.

Commenting on the decision, FIH CEO Thierry Weil said it has been a tough task to circle in on the host. He said, “On behalf of FIH, I would like to thank wholeheartedly all National Associations that submitted a bid. We received excellent proposals and it was therefore a particularly challenging task to decide. We’re very much looking forward to working with the National Associations of the current Women’s and Men’s World and Olympic Champions, the Netherlands and Belgium respectively, that will undoubtedly put together outstanding World Cups.”

The EB also confirmed that the winners of season five (2023/2024) and season six (2024/2025) of the FIH Hockey Pro League will directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup. If the winner of season six would have already qualified in season five, the runner-up earns direct qualification.