The 2021 EuroHockey Championships, both men’s and women’s events, will be taking place from 4-13 June in the Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam, with the top teams in Europe doing battle for both the continental title and qualification for the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup and the 2022 Women’s FIH Hockey World Cup.
Eight men’s and eight women’s teams will be competing, with the world number one men’s and women’s teams, namely Belgium men and Netherlands women, hoping to repeat their success of 2019.
With the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 just a few weeks away, many of the competing teams will also see this event as a chance to see their players in action on a highly competitive stage. For many players, this is a chance to experience hockey with the heightened atmosphere of noisy fans, television cameras and the presence of other media – something that hasn’t happened for many months.
Competing in the men’s tournament, alongside the reigning champions Belgium, are Netherlands, Germany, England, Spain, France, Wales and Russia. Meanwhile, in the women’s competition: Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Scotland, Germany, England, Belgium and Italy.
In the men’s competition, teams that finish in the top five will qualify for the 2023 Men’s World Cup in India. For the women, Spain and Netherlands automatically qualify as joint hosts for the 2022 Women’s World Cup, which means the remainder of the teams need to finish in the top three – or top four or five if either host nations finish in the top three.
The 2021 EuroHockey Championships get underway in Amstelveen on 4 June when Germany meets Wales, followed by the Netherlands against France in the men’s competition. The opening women match will see Netherlands face Ireland, followed by Spain against Scotland.
