The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics.
There is also a Women’s Hockey World Cup, which has been held since 1974 and was organised by the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) until 1981, when the governing bodies merged into the current International Hockey Federation in 1982.
Five countries have dominated the event’s history. Pakistan is the most successful team, having won the tournament four times. The Netherlands and Australia have won three titles, and Germany has each won two titles. India won the tournament once.
The 2014 tournament was held in The Hague, Netherlands from June 2 to 14. Australia defeated Netherlands 6–1 in the final, to win their third World Cup title.The 2018 tournament will be held in India from December 1 to 16, with the city of Bhubaneswar being a possible host. The World Cup will expand to 16 teams in 2018, and FIH will evaluate the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022.
Year | Venue | Winner | Runner-up |
1971 | Barcelona,Spain | Pakistan | Spain |
1973 | Amstelveen, TheNetherlands | Netherlands | India |
1975 | Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia | India | Pakistan |
1978 | Buenos Aires,Argentina | Pakistan | Netherlands |
1982 | Mumbai,India | Pakistan | West Germany |
1986 | London,England | Australia | England |
1990 | Lahore,Pakistan | Netherlands | Pakistan |
1994 | Sydney,Australia | Pakistan | Netherlands |
1998 | Utrecht, TheNetherlands | Netherlands | Spain |
2002 | Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia | Germany | Australia |
2006 | Monchengladbach,Germany | Germany | Australia |
2010 | New Delhi,India | Australia | Germany |
2014 | The Hague,Netherlands | Australia | Netherlands |