With international hockey action coming thick and fast since the turn of year, with the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers and multiple FIH Hockey Pro League mini-tournaments across Argentina and India, there has been a shake-up in the FIH Hockey World Rankings. 

In the FIH Men’s World Rankings, Netherlands (3060) continue to sit at the top of the rankings. Netherlands came away from their India leg of the FIH Pro League, relatively unscathed, with two draws against India and a loss to Australia, accounting for their only dropped points in 8 matches. Belgium (2848) continue to hold on to the second place in the rankings after a strong showing at the Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, Spain. 

Germany (2786) and India (2761) occupy the next two spots in the rankings. Germany went unbeaten at the Olympic Qualifiers in Oman and followed that up with two wins and two draws against Argentina and a young Belgian side during the Santiago del Estero mini tournament in the FIH Pro League to surpass India, whose direct qualification to the Olympic Games through an Asian Games gold, meant they didn’t have to play in the Olympic Qualifiers. 

Australia (2757), looking resurgent with a combination of youth and experience, were the stand out performers during the FIH Pro League mini-tournament in India, and leapfrog England (2720) into fifth place. Argentina (2524) and Spain (2296) continue to hold on to the seventh and eighth positions, as had been the case at the beginning of the year. 

France (2085) remain in a strong ninth position as they continue their preparations to play in front of their home crowd at Paris 2024. Following closely behind are New Zealand (2025), making their way back into the top-10 following a spirited showing at the Olympic Qualifiers in Oman, where they pipped Pakistan in the bronze medal match to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games.  

Korea (1915) will miss out on the Olympic Games following their bronze medal loss against Ireland (1869) at the Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, but manage to stay ahead of the Irish in the world rankings in eleventh. Ireland who are still looking for their first points in their debut FIH Pro League season, remain twelfth. Malaysia (1828), South Africa (1812), Pakistan (1675) and Japan (1640) round out the top-16 in the men’s world rankings. 

 

In the FIH Women’s World Rankings, Netherlands (3422) at the top spot, remain well clear of the chasing pack, having won all 12 of their FIH Pro League season 5 matches thus far. Argentina (2827) and Germany (2732) move ahead of Australia into second and third places following strong performances during the Santiago del Estero mini-tournament of the FIH Pro League, where they each won one of their head-to-head matchups, while registering two wins each against the young Belgian side.

Australia (2678) in fourth are followed by Belgium (2499) who drop a place on the back of four straight losses in the FIH Pro League, albeit with a young and inexperienced side, with many players getting their international debuts during the mini-tournament. England (2304) remain sixth in the world rankings, followed by Spain (2244) in seventh, who have closed the gap to England thanks to a strong showing at the Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, where they finished second to qualify for Paris 2024.

China (2226) have been on a roll over the past year, and their performances during the Indian mini-tournament of the FIH Pro League in February, sees them sit second in the Pro League table, while also catapulting them ahead of India (2215) in the world rankings, into the eighth position. Less than 100 points separate England in sixth and India in ninth, showing the closely contested nature of international women’s hockey! 

Japan (2001) are back into the top-10, following their victory against India in the bronze medal match at the Olympic Qualifiers in India, which saw them qualify for Paris 2024 at the expense of the higher ranked hosts. 

New Zealand (1951) and Korea (1814) also missed out on Olympic qualification but hold on to eleventh and twelfth on the world rankings, ahead of USA (1790), who climb to thirteen, following their strong campaign at the Olympic Qualifiers in India, which sees them return to Olympic Games Paris 2024, after missing out on the previous edition. 

 

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.