Field hockey

Field hockey

Field hockey is a popular sport for men and women in many countries around the world. Its official name and the one by which it is usually known is hockey. However in some countries and in some encyclopedic references by way of distinguishing it from other sports with the same name it is formally known as Field hockey.

Hockey has several regular and prestigious international tournaments for both men and women. These events include the Olympic Games, the quadrennial Hockey World Cups, the annual Champions Trophies and World Cups for juniors.

Indian and Pakistani national teams dominated men's hockey until the early 1980s, winning four of the first five world cups, but have become less prominent recently with The Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Spain gaining importance since the late 1980s. Other strong men's hockey playing nations include Argentina, England and South Korea.

The Netherlands was the predominant international women's team before hockey was added to Olympic events. In the early 1990s, Australia emerged as the strongest women's country although retirement of a number of key players has weakened the team. Other important women's teams are India, China, Korea, Argentina and Germany.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the global governing body of the sport. It organizes major international field hockey events such as the Hockey World Cup and Women's Hockey World Cup. The Hockey Rules Board under FIH is responsible for producing rules for the sport.

Many countries have extensive club competitions for both junior and senior players. Despite the large number of participants, club hockey is not a particularly large spectator sport and few players can afford to play professionally.

In North America field hockey is widely regarded as a girls' and women's sport, especially as many schools and universities field teams. However, there are many men's and mixed leagues, especially in Canada.

In those countries where winter conditions prevent play outdoors field hockey is played indoors during the off-season. This indoor variant, known as indoor field hockey, differs from its outdoor parent in a number of respects. For example, it is 6-a-side rather than 11, the field of play is vastly reduced to approximately 40m x 20m; the shooting circles are 9m not 14.4m; players may not raise the ball outside the circle nor hit it. The sidelines are also replaced with barriers to rebound the ball off.