The FIH Hockey Pro League has precipitated some movements in the top reaches of the FIH World Rankings, while the CAC Games Qualifiers in Pembroke, Bermuda have had a similar impact lower down the rankings. Here are the movers and shakers as we take our monthly look at the teams’ movements.

In the women’s FIH Hockey Pro League, matches involving Netherlands, India, USA, Argentina and England have resulted in Netherlands (3015.716 points) making their position at the top of the rankings even more concrete – after two wins (v USA) and a draw (v India). Argentina’s continuing good form in the Pro League means they remain in second place on 2610.650, with Australia (2434.048) in third. 

A win and a draw against USA keeps England (2384.971) in fourth position, with their next FIH Hockey Pro League opponents Germany (2240.079) in fifth. Spain remain in sixth on 2033.878, while for India however, a win over their Oranje opponents means they jump to seventh in the rankings with 2029.396. Belgium are in eighth with 1985.293, ahead of New Zealand (1921.113) whose ninth position is their lowest ranking for many years. 

Japan (1800.350) completes the top 10, with USA remaining in 15th place despite earning their first FIH Hockey Pro League point this season when they drew with England. 

The recent men’s FIH Hockey Pro League action has catapulted India (2503.349) to third in the Rankings. Three wins and a draw over England (3-3 and 4-3) and Germany (3-0 and 3-1) moves India ahead of Netherlands, who drop to fourth with 2465.707 points. France’s win over Argentina sees the European team move to ninth, with Spain dropping to tenth. Despite their first point in the Pro League (a draw with Argentina), South Africa remain outside the top ten in 13th position.

Top of the men’s rankings remains unaltered: Australia top the rankings with 2842.258 points after a successful four-match test series against Malaysia; Belgium are in second place with 2763.486 points. India and Netherlands hold third and fourth places respectively then it is Germany (2248.019), Argentina (2179.069), England (2079.512) and New Zealand (1798.247).

France are in ninth on 1728.013, Spain follow with 1720.526. Malaysia, Canada and South Africa sit in 11th, 12th and 13th positions.

The action in the women’s CAC Qualifier saw Puerto Rico jump from 49th to 45th thanks to a second place finish at the event. Winners Bermuda took an even bigger leap up the rankings, moving from 73rd yo 54th. Guyana fell from 66th to 74th.

For Bermuda men, a first appearance in the World Rankings is just reward for their performance in the CAC Games. Puerto Rico men suffered a fall from 61st to 64th after they finished the event in second place behind Jamaica. 

To see the complete FIH World Rankings, please 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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