Lausanne [Switzerland], April 28 : The FIH Hockey Pro League 2023-24 season will start on December 6 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced on Friday.
The FIH Pro League, now in its fifth edition, will be played in a traditional format but relegation rules will be applied for the first time.
The Pro League matches will begin on December 6 in Argentina. India, Belgium, Great Britain and the Netherlands will also host matches.
The bottom-placed team at the end of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-23 season, which will conclude in June, will be replaced by the winners of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2022.
The Indian women's hockey team was promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League for the 2023-24 season after winning the first-ever FIH Hockey Nations Cup the previous year. Meanwhile, Ireland was promoted after winning the men's competition.
The other participating teams for the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023-24 season will be confirmed at the end of the 2022-23 season.
The fifth season of the Professional Hockey League's schedule has been broken down into seven date blocks where numerous teams will congregate at one location to compete against one another. In February, India will play host to a number of games in Rourkela.
The 2023-2024 season will end in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on June 30, 2024,.
The team winning the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023-24 season will earn a direct entry into the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026.
The competition dates for Season 5 - which will include seven "mini-tournaments" running from the end of 2023 to mid-2024 - have been confirmed as follows:
Santiago del Estero, Argentina (6-11 December 2023), Buenos Aires, Argentina (14-19 February 2024), Rourkela, India (10-25 February 2024), Antwerp, Belgium (23 May-2 June 2024), Lee Valley, Great Britain (1-12 June 2024), Utrecht, Netherlands (22-25 June 2024) and Amsterdam, Netherlands (22-30 June 2024).
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