Hockey Ireland Secure Hosting Rights For World League Round 2, Part of World Cup 2018 Qualification

Hockey Ireland has secured hosting rights for the men's World League Round 2 in 2017, a stage in the qualification process for the 2018 World Cup in India. Ireland has been chosen as 1 of just 3 countries to host the men's Round 2 and we are thrilled to be hosting our second World League Round 2 in a row. After the success of World League in Dublin in March of this year we're looking forward to welcoming crowds to fill the stands again and support the Green Machine in their quest for World Cup Qualification. The women's World League Round 2 will be played in Canada, Spain and Malaysia, and the Green Army will be looking to progress to Round 3 and qualify for the World Cup in England in 2018.

Speaking about the tournament, Hockey Ireland CEO Mike Heskin said "We're delighted to have been selected as a host of World League Round 2 in 2017. It is a credit to the all those who were involved in the running of the World League Round 2 in Dublin earlier this year that the FIH are prepared to award Ireland with back to back World tournaments.

The tournament will offer the public a chance to see the record breaking Green Machine in action at home as they bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Dublin will be the only venue in Europe to host Round 2 of the men's competition so we're very much looking forward to welcoming teams from around the world and showcasing high quality hockey."

FIH announce hosts for 2016/17 Hockey World League - Round 2

- Trinidad & Tobago, Ireland, Bangladesh, Canada, Spain and Malaysia to host events
- Events to take place early 2017
- Round 1 hosts to be announced shortly

9 September, 2015: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has confirmed today that six countries around the world will host 2016/17 Hockey World League (HWL) Round 2 events in early 2017.

The three men's competitions will take place in Tacarigua (Trinidad & Tobago), Dublin (Ireland) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) while the women's tournaments will take place in Vancouver (Canada), Valencia (Spain) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Speaking of these host agreements, FIH CEO, Kelly Fairweather, said: "We are delighted to announce these six venues for the Hockey World League Round 2. We had an unprecedented number of exceptional applications to host these events which made the decision making process extremely difficult. 24 bids from cities around the world were received, which provides further evidence of the growing global spread of our sport."

He continued: "What's great to see is that many of the bids reflected one of our Hockey Revolution's goals - to develop innovative and exciting entertainment events. With this in mind, we have no doubt that each and every one of the successful host cities will put on fantastic events and in doing so showcase international hockey at its best."
The dates for each event are currently being finalised in conjunction with each host National Association and as soon as they are finalised they will be published on the FIH website.

Following the confirmation of the HWL Round 2 hosts, in close cooperation with the Continental Federations, FIH are now finalising the venues and teams for the HWL Round 1 tournaments, which will be held in 2016.

Composed of four rounds and played over two years, the HWL takes place in venues around the world.This unique competition gives even the smallest hockey-playing nations the opportunity to write their own chapter in hockey's history books, as they are given the chance to progress through the Rounds, with the added incentive of Olympic or World Cup qualification also on offer.

The 2016/17 HWL will decide which teams will qualify alongside the Continental Champions and hosts for the FIH World Cups in 2018 in England (women) and India (men).

All teams participating in the HWL will also receive FIH World Ranking points which could potentially prove crucial when it comes to qualification for other hockey events.