FIH Hockey Pro League 2025/26
Pro League 2025/26 opening matches in Dublin and Santiago del Estero.
World Cup preparation and Olympic qualification will make this season’s FIH Hockey Pro League unmissable
The new FIH Pro League competition began on 9 December, launching a seven-month season featuring nine men’s and nine women’s national teams. From the opening whistles in Dublin and Santiago del Estero, the League will push players across climates, styles and surfaces in a global test of skill, resilience and high-pressure hockey.
Known as ‘the League of the Best,’ the FIH Pro League gathers the world’s leading men’s and women’s national teams into a single, season-long competition. The format is simple: consistent performance across the global calendar and sustained excellence determines who lifts the Pro League Trophy. For fans, home-and-away stages give supporters the chance to see their teams compete on familiar turf.
Pro League 2025/26 opening matches in Santiago del Estero.
All to play for with qualification for LA 2028 at stake
For the seventh edition of the Pro League, the stakes have never been higher, with a Hockey World Cup on the horizon and automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympic Games going to the Pro League champions, meaning the next seven months will help set the scene for the next three years of international hockey.
“This year’s Pro League is particularly interesting, as countries build up teams before the Hockey World Cup. You can really see technical and tactical systems being tested in real time.”
Pro League 2025/26 opening matches in Santiago del Estero.
Netherlands set to defend their double title
Several storylines lift this season beyond the routine. Both Netherlands squads are the standard-setters, with the Dutch men’s and women’s teams defending Pro League champions and the dominant nation in previous Pro League outings, with the Dutch women winning five out of six finals and the men winning three out of six.
Pro League 2025/26 opening matches in Dublin.
China, Argentina and Belgium pose a threat
Teams looking to shake up the usual order will include China’s women’s team, coached by Alyson Annan and keen to improve on their fourth-place finish in last year’s Pro League, while Argentina and Belgium will also pose a threat. In the men’s competition, Germany and Belgium, with their deep familiarity and experience against the Dutch, represent the strongest chance to challenge
Pakistan makes Pro League debut
Hockey fans will be delighted with Pakistan’s first-time inclusion in the tournament following years in the hockey wilderness. In their glorious past, Pakistan have won four World Cups and three Olympic Golds, and in 2025/26 the men’s team are aiming to revive their fortunes in the sport they once dominated. Their two fixtures against India in London in June will no doubt attract both global interest and passionate crowds.
Pro League 2025/26 Pakistan make their debut
Pro League 2025/26 Ireland women join the league .
Irish Women make their debut on home soil
In the women’s competition, Ireland, making their Pro League debut, will appreciate the opportunity to start and shape their campaign on home turf in front of family and a vocal local crowd.
Pro League 2025/26 opening matches in Dublin on Poligras
6 out of 10 Pro League host venues play on Poligras
This season features matches across venues in 10 countries: Berlin (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Hobart (Australia), London (UK), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Rourkela (India), Santiago del Estero (Argentina), Valencia (Spain), Wavre (Belgium) and Yunfu (China).
Dublin, Valencia, Hobart, London, and Berlin are all Poligras turfs installed by Polytan, as is the new World Cup stadium in Wavre. With Poligras underfoot for so many of the tournament’s 144 matches and for marquee events such as the next FIH Hockey World Cup Netherlands-Belgium 2026 and the LA 2028 Olympic Games, the brand's commitment and connection to hockey has never been stronger.
Pro League 2025/26 - six venues are Poligras
Poligras pitch innovation supports the game at the highest level
Available worldwide from Polytan and AstroTurf, Poligras, the chosen turf for nine Olympic Games and ten World Cups, has become part of the sport’s core infrastructure.
With sustainability playing an increasingly important role in surface selection, clubs and federations are opting for lower-impact systems that maintain elite performance. Poligras’ ongoing work on water-reduction technology and carbon-zero materials in some of its range mirrors how the sport is planning its next generation of fields.
Pro League 2025/26 opening matches in Santiago del Estero.
World Cup prep, Olympic qualification and solidifying a new generation of players
What stands out this year is the sense that every team arrives with a specific goal: build depth before the World Cup, make the Olympics, or consolidate a new generation. As Simon Mason, former England goalkeeper and three-time Olympian puts it, “This year’s Pro League is particularly interesting, as countries build up teams before the Hockey World Cup. You can really see technical and tactical systems being tested in real time.”
FIH Director General Mike Joyce reinforced the importance of this year’s League: “With an Olympic qualification at stake and a legendary team – Pakistan – joining for the first time, the FIH Hockey Pro League has probably never been more exciting! It got off to a really good start with Ireland – hosting Pro League matches for the first time – staging two remarkable events, thereby paving the way for a fantastic Season 7 of the ‘League of the Best’!”
Good luck to all the teams
As the FIH Pro League 2025/26 gets underway, the teams from around the world will again demonstrate the energy, skills and commitment required to come out on top. All the best for the months ahead and see you in June.
Pro League 2025/26 - good luck to all teams.