Ireland’s hosting hopes dashed

The Irish Hockey Association’s hopes of easing some of their financial worries by hosting round three of the FIH World League have been dashed, it was revealed yesterday.

The national body was hopeful of hosting both the men’s and women’s competitions, which will double as World Cup qualifiers, at the National Hockey Stadium in UCD later this year. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) instead awarded the World League 3 tournaments to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, from June 13-23.

Succeeding with such a venture would have had a number of benefits for Ireland. Firstly, both national sides would have qualified automatically for the tournaments as hosts, and would not have to participate in round two.