The hockey federations of England and Wales have made a ‘disguised’ bid to host the 2026 men’s hockey world cup, which includes the use of the rugby club’s three main stadiums and hosting the finals at Tottenham Hotspur.
With bids to host the World Cup, which will be the first men’s event since 1986 to be held in the UK, the English entity that looks after the sport believes it has raised the bar. Nick Pink, chief executive of Hockey England, told The Hockey Paper it was an “exciting, different and innovative” proposal.
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If their bid is successful, the England Hockey Club will use their “big hockey field” design, which places a stadium on existing surfaces.
England matches will be played on three rugby stadiums: Harlequins’ Stoop, which hosted hockey matches for the first time in 2019, while additional grounds will be used at Franklin Gardens, home of Northampton Saints, and Cardiff Arms Park, home of the Cardiff Blues.
The semi-finals and finals of the 2026 event will be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium.
Faced with the big show, hockey authorities in England and Wales expect to sell 300,000 tickets for the event, aiming to reach different communities using four different venues.
The nomination is already backed by the government and press reports indicate that a third of the income needed to host the tournament has already been collected.
One of the problems with hosting the 16-team Hockey World Cup may be the lack of spectators for some matches with lower-ranked teams, or those without England in this case.
The decision to host the tournament must be announced on November 5 by the International Hockey Federation.
