The Hockey World Cup trophy was designed by the Bashir Moojid and created by the Pakistani Army. On March 27, 1971, in Brussels, the trophy was formally handed to FIH President Rene Frank by Mr H.E Masood, the Pakistani Ambassador to Belgium. The trophy consists of a silver cup with an intricate floral design, surmounted by a globe of the world in silver and gold, placed on a high blade base inlaid with ivory. At its peak is a model hockey stick and ball. Without its base, the trophy stands 120.85 mm high. Including the base, the trophy stands 650 mm. It weighs 11,560 g, including 895 g of gold, 6815 g of silver, 350 g of ivory and 3500 g of teak wood.
Format
The Hockey World Cup consists of a qualification stage and a final tournament stage. The format for each stage is the same
Qualification
The qualification stage has been a part of the Hockey World Cup since 1977. All participating teams play in the qualification round. The teams divide into two or more pools and compete for a berth in the final tournament. The top two teams are automatically qualified and the rest of the berths are decided in playoffs.
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The Semi-Final of World Cup 2006 between Germany and Spain |
Final tournament
The final tournament features the continental champions and other qualified teams. Sometimes it also features the winners of the Summer Olympics' hockey competition or the continental runners-up. The teams divide into pools once more and play a round robin tournament. The composition of the pools is determined using the current world rankings. The top two teams in each pool play in the semifinals for a place in the final. The bottom two teams in the semifinals have a third place playoff. The rest of the teams have playoffs to determine their final positions. If they are third or fourth in their pool, they play for fifth place; if they are fifth or sixth in their pool, they play for ninth place.
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