New Zealand on Tuesday was named host of the men’s Champions Trophy, a week after the field hockey tournament was moved out of India due to a tussle over who runs the sport in the country.
New Zealand, ranked seventh in the world, will now replace ninth-ranked India in the December 3 to 11 event to be held in Auckland, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement.
“It is always tough to move an event out of any country, but I have to say that the silver lining is the bid from New Zealand,” said FIH president Leandro Negre.
“New Zealand will put on a first-rate Champions Trophy and has been extremely flexible and professional given the tough circumstances and tight timeline.”
India will also lose its place in the eight-nation competition — the second biggest in hockey after the World Cup.
India have, however, been invited to participate as a top-seeded team in the Champions Challenge tournament — contested by teams not playing in the Champions Trophy — to be held in South Africa in November, the FIH said.
Hockey New Zealand chief executive Hilary Poole said they were confident of successfully staging the Champions Trophy.
“We have been overwhelmed how quickly our key partners have come together to offer support to ensure this is a truly fantastic event,” the FIH statement quoted Poole as saying.
In July, the FIH voiced concerns over a settlement between two rival bodies, Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), which agreed to form a joint executive board to run the game.
The FIH said last week there could be only one governing body for the sport in any country.
