Lausanne [Switzerland], March 16 (ANI): The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that New Zealand and South Africa will host the fourth edition of the women's and men's FIH Hockey Nations Cup (respectively), with the winners being offered the opportunity to join the 2026-27 season of the FIH Hockey Pro League.

The city of Cape Town, South Africa, will host the men's event which will involve some of the best teams in the world, South Africa, New Zealand, France, Korea, Japan, Wales, Malaysia, along with Scotland--who were promoted via the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2, and Ireland -- who were relegated from the 2024-25 season of the FIH Hockey Pro League, according to a release.

The 2025-26 edition of the FIH Hockey Men's Nations Cup will run from June 11 to 20, and will mark the return of the competition to South Africa, which hosted the inaugural edition of the men's competition in Potchefstroom in 2022.

The women's event will take place in Auckland, New Zealand, from June 15 to 21. The impressive line-up for the competition includes hosts New Zealand, USA, Japan, Korea, Chile, Scotland, along with France -- who were promoted via the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2, and India -- who were relegated from the 2024-25 season of the FIH Hockey Pro League.

The FIH Hockey Nations Cup was launched in 2021 to offer a top-level competition to the best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League and give the winning team the option to be promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League in the following season.

India, Spain and New Zealand have won the first three editions of the women's competition thus far. On the men's side, South Africa won the inaugural edition, followed by back-to-back successes for the New Zealand men's team.

Following the confirmation of the hosts for the fourth edition of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said, 'On behalf of FIH, I would like to express our sincere thanks to the Hockey Associations of New Zealand and South Africa. We are delighted to have two outstanding host nations and cities for these remarkable tournaments. I'm excited for the thrilling matches and the fantastic atmosphere that will unfold across two continents, as some of the world's top men's and women's teams showcase their talent for hockey fans around the globe.' (ANI)