Egypt will aim to reach the FIH World Cup for the first time when they host the Men’s and Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ismailia from this weekend.
The winner of each competition (men and women) in Ismailia will secure a spot at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026.
There are six participating teams in the men’s competition: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana and Zambia.
The women’s competition will see five teams compete in initial round robin matches: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and Ghana.
South Africa men and women will be favourites to secure World Cup places.
The finals will take place on Oct 18.
The winners will be the final teams into World Cup qualifying, which will take place next February.
World Cup qualification: Where things stand
The winner of the Men’s Africa Cup of Nations 2025 will become the ninth team to qualify for the men’s World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026. Belgium and Netherlands, on account of being hosts of the event, gained direct qualification. Australia and Spain qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League.
Argentina secured qualification through the Pan American Cup, Germany qualified from the Eurohockey Championship, New Zealand qualified through the Oceania Cup and India qualified through the Asia Cup. The winner of the Africa Cup of Nations will become the final direct qualifier for the men’s event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.
Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup, the EuroHockey Championships and the Asia Cup, the following men’s teams have qualified for the FIH World Cup Qualifiers: USA, Canada, Chile, France, England, Austria, Poland, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia.
One team from Africa and the winner of the three-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will complete the line-up.
The winner of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will also become the ninth team to qualify for the women’s World Cup.
Germany and Argentina qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League.
USA secured qualification through the Pan American Cup, Spain qualified from the Eurohockey Championship, New Zealand qualified through the Oceania Cup and China qualified through the Asia Cup.
The winner of the Africa Cup of Nations will become the final direct qualifier for the women’s event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.
Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup, EuroHockey Championships, Oceania Cup and Asia Cup the following women’s teams have qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026: Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Ireland, England, France, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, India, Japan, Korea and Malaysia.
