Malaysia will host the third edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup.
Kuala Lumpur will be the staging for the June 15-21 event, with the winners being granted a place in the 2025/26 FIH Pro League.
In a strong-looking tournament, seven of the eight teams competing (barring Pakistan) played in the 2023 men’s World Cup.
The full line-up is: France, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Wales.
New Zealand and South Africa federations have turned down Pro League invites in recent seasons, while Pakistan were suspended from the inaugural Pro League.
The FIH Hockey Nations Cup was launched in 2021 with the aim of offering a top-level competition to the best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League and giving the winning team the option to be promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League the next season.
The first two editions were played in Potchefstroom, South Africa (2022) and Gniezno, Poland (2024). The inaugural Nations Cup (men) was won by South Africa, the following one by New Zealand.
Subahan bin Kamal, the president of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation said: “We are grateful to FIH in entrusting us to host this amazing event for the very first time.
“We are excited and believe this tournament will definitely bring the best of world hockey talents to Malaysia. We would also like to thank our Honourable Sports Minister Ms Hannah Yeoh in supporting our effort in hosting this event.”
