Hyderabad to Host Womens 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 13 January 2026

• Hockey India inked an MoU with the Government of Telangana to stage the Women’s 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad
• This tournament will happen from the 8th to the 14th of March 2026

Hockey India signed a MoU with the Govt. of Telangana to stage the Women’s 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad between March 8th to 14th, 2026.

This event will include participation by eight international teams: India, England, Scotland, Korea, Uruguay, Italy, Wales, and Austria, all vying for entry into the World Cup competitions as part of the top-three selected teams.

Such top-three teams will receive direct qualification into the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, being hosted in Belgium and the Netherlands from the 15th to 30th of August 2026.

A total of 16 nations from both men's and women's national sides will compete in the World Cup, with nine from each having already qualified.

MoU symbolically represents the ascendancy of India as a hockey hosting destination and Telangana as a destination for major sporting events.

Speaking at the event, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said this partnership reflects their Government's commitment toward encouraging sports, empowering women athletes, and building Hyderabad as a world-class sporting destination.

Telangana Sports Minister Vakiti Srihari pointed out that hosting the event gives a chance to support sports development and engage youth in the region.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Telangana Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, Chairman Shivsena Reddy, VC and MD Sonibala, FIH President Tayyab Ikram, Hockey India President Dr. Dilip Tirkey, Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh, Treasurer Sekar J. Manoharan and Director General Cdr RK Srivastava.

The president of the FIH, Tayyab Ikram, welcomed the new partnership, saying that the involvement of India, a prominent member in the international hockey community, is noteworthy.

The fact that the event features highly competitive hockey action, with qualification for the World Cup, was also emphasized.

The MoU has been described as a crucial step towards introducing world-class hockey to the country by Dr. Dilip Tirkey, President of Hockey India, who expressed confidence that Hyderabad has enough infrastructure as well as support for the game to flourish.

Secretary General of Hockey India, Bhola Nath Singh, stated that their main objective would be to hold a professional tournament that would give the participating nations the best possible conditions.