After another set of FIH Hockey Pro League matches played in India, Netherlands and Germany, there has been some movements within both the men’s and women’s FIH World Rankings.

The recent Asia Hockey Federation Cup in Jakarta also provoked some change, with Bangladesh’s first ever victory in the competition leading to the team making big strides up the rankings.

In the women’s FIH Pro League, eight matches have been played, involving the national teams of India, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and USA. England should also have played but were hit by a high number of Covid cases within the squad so their matches with India have been postponed. Two wins by the Netherlands over USA in the most recent FIH Pro League matches has further cemented the Dutch team’s hold at the top of the world rankings. 

The men’s teams in action were: India, Argentina, England, Germany and Spain. Matches took place in India and Germany. The most recent of these matches saw India hold on in two intense matches against England to take the bonus point for a winning draw as well as all three points in a close 4-3 encounter. 

In the Men’s World Rankings, there is little change at the top. Australia remain in pole position on 2742.258 points, with Belgium a few points behind on 2663.486.

Netherlands are in third place (2365.707), with India in fourth (2316.012). Germany has cemented its spot in fifth (2235.357), Argentina (2112.052) remain in sixth place, England (1979.512) are in seventh with New Zealand (1698.247), Spain (1620.526) and France (1571.678) making up the top10.

Further down the rankings, Bangladesh men have had a good few weeks: their victory in the Asia Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup has seen the team move from 38th to 31st in the rankings. As a result of the same event, Iran men have also joined the World Ranking system in 92nd position.

There is no surprise to see the Netherlands (3115.356) clear by some margin at the top of the Women’s FIH World Rankings. The next seven positions are also unchanged with Argentina (2610.650), Australia (2434.048), England (2384.971) and Germany (2240.079) occupying those positions. Spain (2033.878) is in sixth place with Belgium (1985.293) in seventh. India (1929.756) has leapfrogged New Zealand (1921.113) with Japan in 10th position. 

With India and Germany men and Argentina and France men’s teams next to compete in the FIH Pro League, expect more movement in the rankings as competition for the top spots is fierce. 

Netherlands will be looking to extend their lead when they face India later this week (8 April), while Argentina and USA play out an all-Pan-Am clash on the 16 and 17 April. For USA, who have slipped to 15th in the rankings, the next series of matches provides an opportunity for the north American team to make a comeback into the top 10. 

To see the complete FIH World Rankings, click here.

The rankings calculations model that FIH introduced on 1st January 2020 moved away from the previous tournament-based rankings system to a dynamic, match-based method where opposing teams exchange points in official, FIH sanctioned games. The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. More information about the new rankings model can be found below. 

How the FIH World Rankings work:

The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. 

FIH World Rankings explained:

  •        Based on the Elo rating system, which is used as the basis of many other sports ranking systems 
  •        When two nations play against each other, a number of ranking points are exchanged between them 
  •        In every match, the number of points gained by one team is exactly matched by the number of points lost by the other
  •        Teams will win more points for beating teams ranked above them, and therefore teams will lose more points for losing to a team ranked below them 
  •        Teams will win less points for beating teams ranked below them, and therefore teams will lose less points for losing to a team ranked above them
  •        If a draw occurs, the lower ranked team will gain a small number of points and the higher ranked team will lose the same number of points 
  •        The number of points exchanged is dependent on the result of the match (win, lose, shootout win/loss or draw), the importance of the match (part of a major tournament, or a test series for example), and the relative difference in ranking points between the teams before the match. 

More details about the formula used in the algorithm, weightings of matches and other factors can be found HERE together with a Frequently Asked Questions document HERE.

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