Hobart to host Pro League hockey

Hobart has joined Sydney and Melbourne as host cities for some of the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos home games in the inaugural 2019 FIH Pro League.

Hobart has been chosen as one of the Australian venues for the new international hockey Pro League starting in early 2019.

Melbourne and Sydney will also host the competition, which pits nine men's and women's teams from across the world against each other on a home-and-away basis.

Australian home matches will be played in February and March, in the inaugural 152- game competition which will be played between January and June.

The majority of the early games will be played in the southern hemisphere, with Argentina and New Zealand hosting matches against European teams before the League comes to Australia.

The Kookaburras and Hockeyroos commence their campaigns on the weekend of February 2-3 in Melbourne, where both teams will face the Netherlands and Belgium.

"We expect the FIH Pro League concept to garner great support around the country, which is why we're spreading our fixtures out around Australia," HA Chief Executive Matt Favier said.

"It's exciting to have Hobart host international hockey for the first time since 2015, while we're thrilled to once again bring elite international hockey in Melbourne and Sydney."

An Australian venue still has to be confirmed for the men's and women's matches against Great Britain on February 16.

Four teams will contest the finals series to be played in the Netherlands in June.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and New Zealand will contest both competitions.

The men's league will also have Pakistan and Spain and the women's section includes China and the United States.

2019 FIH Pro League - Australia home fixtures:

Saturday, February 2 - Kookaburras v Netherlands; Hockeyroos v Netherlands - State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne.

Sunday, February 3 - Kookaburras v Belgium; Hockeyroos v Belgium - State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne.

Saturday, February 9- Kookaburras v Pakistan; Hockeyroos v China - Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart.

Sunday, February 10 - Kookaburras v Germany; Hockeyroos v Germany - Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart.

Saturday, February 16 - Kookaburras v Great Britain; Hockeyroos v Great Britain - TBC.

Saturday, March 2 - Kookaburras v Spain; Hockeyroos v USA - Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney.

Saturday, March 16 - Kookaburras v Argentina; Hockeyroos v Argentina - Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney.

Sunday, March 17 - Kookaburras v New Zealand; Hockeyroos v New Zealand - Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney.


Share
Published 19 June 2018 12:12pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world