Why FIH’s Robust Backing is a Good Augury for Hockey India League
The Hockey India League (FIH) has been resuscitated by Hockey India is well documented in public domain but what should not go ‘unnoticed’ is FIH’s ‘unprecedented support’ for the league – obviously, it’s a good augury for the future of this league that was ‘discontinued’ in 2017. There is a great deal of ‘anticipation not just among Indian hockey fans but also across global hockey fans’ over the fact that the league is being reinitiated after a hiatus of seven years.
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Clearly, there would be many lessons learned from the previous Hockey India League that ran for five years (2013-2017) for Hockey India and its partners – one could see that the organisers have come ‘better prepared’ dispensing with the home-and-away concept this time around as it can lead to a big cost burden on the franchise owners as was the case last time around – making teams travel across cities can punch big holes in the expenses sheet of teams (flight bookings, hotel booking, cab services, etc). The idea to have HIL matches only in Ranchi and Rourkela appears to be a well-thought one and a good one.
More importantly, FIH has been categorical about its support for the Hockey India League – it has created a window between December 28 and February 5 for the league for the next five years, which effectively means that no international tournaments or matches can take place during this period and also ensures top global talents are available to showcase their skills in the league.
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The support of FIH only underpins why the Indian hockey is so important to the growth of global hockey at large. The kind of government funding the Indian government is perhaps unmatched in world hockey and there are encouraging reasons for the FIH to have high hopes from the HIL. No doubt, India have been a strong pillar of support from the organizational standpoint – it had hosted three out of last four senior men’s World Cups, three consecutive junior men’s World Cups (2013, 2016, & 2021) and is again hosting the 2025 edition. The erstwhile Hockey World League Final (now replaced by the Pro League) was thrice held in India at New Delhi, Raipur and Bhubaneshwar (2014, 2015, and 2017).
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If we look around at the other hockey leagues happening around the world, we can get a broader picture. The Belgian Hockey League is the oldest hockey club in the world – it came into inception in 1919 (105 years back) and is a big draw among hockey lovers – the 2023-24 edition league started in September 2023 and was wrapped up in May 2024. Gantoise are the defending champions.
As far as Australia is concerned, Hockey One (previous Australia Hockey League) is hugely popular and is held from October to December this year. Brisbane Blaze are the defending champions (won the 2023 edition). Initiated in the early seventies, the Dutch hockey league also known as Tulp Hoofdklasse League is always soaring in popularity – the 2023-24 edition kickstarted in September 2023 and ended in May 2024. Kampong are the defending champions (won the 2023-24 edition). The German hockey league – Bundesliga – is another high-profile club-based hockey league initiated in the early seventies. Mannheimer HC re the defending champions (won the 2023-24 edition).
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All these leagues have been able to effectively sustain themselves over time and the organisers of the Hockey India League seem to be ‘better prepared than before’ and nothing should stop them from taking a deep dive from these leagues and leverage the learnings that can help in translating the promise of HIL into a long-standing viable product. The success of the HIL is critical to the overall development of hockey in India as well as globally and one hopes that it is a howling success this time around.
