2021 was a great year for British hockey. After the Olympics went on hiatus in 2020 following the Covid-19 pandemic, we finally saw the Tokyo games take place in the summer.
After initial heartbreak in the semi-final following a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands, Team GB’s women’s team entered a third-place thriller with India. A close fought battle saw the Brits clinch the bronze medal after a 4-3 win.
Five goals in a chaotic second quarter saw Team GB go from 2-0 up to 3-2 down heading into the second half. However, captain Hollie Pearne-Webb struck her team level in the third quarter before Grace Balsdon’s brilliant drag flick at the start of the final quarter earnt GB the victory.
Elsewhere, the men’s team put on a good showing, placing fifth after reaching the Quarter Finals where they bowed out at the hands of India’s male counterparts.
With such an exciting year behind us, it is time to look forward to 2022. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest Hockey events to look forward to following the new year.
12-23rdth Jan: EuroHockey Indoor Championship
As announced in November, the 2022 men’s and women’s EuroHockey indoor championships will begin a little before the midway point in January. After a thrilling final last year, the men’s Belarusian and Swiss teams were promoted.
Elsewhere, Germany will be looking to continue their dominance in the Women’s game, going for their 17th title.
With betting on sports like hockey becoming more common, providers like 888 will have a number of markets open for punters to bet on the favourites of the upcoming Championship.
Every country playing in the tournament has been placed into a pool based on their final ranking in the competition in 2020. The pools, dates and locations are as followed:
Men’s Indoor Championship – Hamburg (GER), Sporthalle Hamburg- 13-16 January 2022
- Pool A: AUT, CZE, NED, BLR
- Pool B: GER, RUS, BEL, SUI
Men’s Indoor Championship II – Paredes (POR), Pavilhão Rota dos Móveis – 14-16 January 2022
- Pool A: POL, CRO, TUR, ESP
- Pool B: UKR, POR, ITA, SVK
Men’s Indoor Championship III – Nicosia (CYP), CBF Arena (Agios Dometios) – 14-16 January 2022
- One Pool: DEN, SCO, IRL, CYP, LTU, SWE
Women’s Indoor Championship – Hamburg (GER), Sporthalle Hamburg – 12-15 January 2022
- Pool A: GER, UKR, CZE, TUR
- Pool B: NED, BLR, AUT, RUS
Women’s Indoor Championship II – Ourense (ESP), Pazo dos Deportes – 21-23 January 2022
- Pool A: POL, SCO, LTU, IRL
- Pool B: SUI, BEL, CRO, ESP
Women’s Indoor Championship III – Bratislava (SVK), Dom športu Bratislava – 21-23 January 2022
- One Pool: SVK, POR, DEN, ITA
11-13th Feb: Indoor Club Cup
The Club Cup is the premier club tournament of Europe, contested by the eight strongest EHF national associations. Germany have long been dominant in the competition, with German men’s clubs winning 27 of the 31 competitions held since 1990.
The men’s and women’s competitions will run concurrently but in separate nations, with the men’s tournament taking place in Alanya, Turkey and the women’s in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
13-18th April: EHL Final12/Final8
The Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam will host one of the most exciting tournaments of the year in the ABN AMRO EHL Men and Women’s competitions.
After being played behind closed doors in 2020, they are finally opening their doors again and welcoming back the famous party atmosphere! The eight women’s teams and 12 men’s teams are yet to be announced but rest assured there will be tonnes of thrilling action!
In addition to the best club hockey in the world, the weekend will also feature a Hockey ID event, ABN AMRO’s Hockey Experience and the EHL U14 Boys and Girls tournaments.
The finals of both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments will take place on the 18th April, along with the men’s league cup final, which runs concurrent with the Final12.
15-27th August: Eurohockey Qualifiers
After a whole host of challenge and junior tournaments in the early summer months, the season will culminate with qualifiers for the 2023 EuroHockey Championship.
The 2021 Championships saw the Netherland’s dominate the tournament, topping both the Men’s (I) and Women’s (I) standings. Following a rule change in 2019, eight teams (four women’s, four men’s) will pre-qualify for the tournament in Monchengladbach, Germany.
England’s men’s team will be hoping to build on their impressive showing in 2021 after finishing fourth, earning automatic qualification for the 2023 tournament.
The women however will have to go through qualifying, facing Wales, Russia, Slovakia and Croatia in Durham from 22-27th August. They narrowly missed out on pre-qualification following a 5th placed finish in 2021.
The teams who have pre-qualified and therefore will not be taking part in qualifiers are:
- Men: NED, GER, BEL, ENG
- Women: NED, GER, BEL, ESP
There will be an array of host nations for the qualifiers with games taking place in Spain, France and England among others. It is sure to be an exciting finish to the year with dozens of the best talent Europe has to offer battling it out for a place in Monchengladbach in 2023!
Men’s Qualifier A
Teams: ESP, POL, ITA, POR, SVK
Men’s Qualifier B
Teams: FRA, IRL, UKR, TUR, LTU, SLO
Men’s Qualifier C
Teams: AUT, RUS, BLR, CRO, DEN, HUN
Men’s Qualifier D
Teams: SCO, WAL, CZE, SUI, GIB, FIN
Women’s Qualifier A
Teams: ENG, WAL, RUS, CRO, SVK
Women’s Qualifier B
Teams: IRL, POL, CZE, TUR, FIN
Women’s Qualifier C
Teams: BLR, ITA, UKR, LTU, GIB
Women’s Qualifier D
Teams: FRA, SCO, SUI, AUT, HUN, SLO