The 2026 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup was the 16th edition of the Women's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for women's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It was held from 15 to 29 August 2026 in Wavre, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Belgium and Netherlands were given the hosting rights in November 2022, beating bids from Australia, South Africa and Uruguay in the process. This was the second time the women's event was co-hosted after 2022. This also marked Belgium's first and Netherlands' fifth time hosting. This was also the first time the men's and women's world cup were held as one joint tournament.
16 teams participated for the third time after the expansion in 2018. Qualification was an amalgamation of the FIH Pro League, continental championships and the World Cup Qualifiers. Qualification took place from December 2023 to March 2026 to decide the qualifiers.
Netherlands were the defending champions after defeating the Argentina 3–1 at the 2022 final in Terrassa. Argentina returned the favour and won after penalties against the Netherlands to win their third title. Belgium beat Australia 1–0 to win their second bronze medal, the first since the 1978 World Cup.
Host selection
The International Hockey Federation announced on 15 June 2022 that they had received the following three bids for holding only women's 2026 World Cup:
The following two bids were received for holding combined women's and men's world cup simultaneously:
and
Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands were awarded the hosting rights on 3 November 2022. This was the Netherlands' fifth time hosting after 1986, 1998, 2014, and 2022. This was Belgium's first time hosting.
Teams Qualification
Just as in 2018 and 2023, 16 teams competed in the tournament. Alongside hosts, Belgium and Netherlands, the top-ranked team in the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons in the FIH Pro League and the five continental champions receive an automatic berth. The other 16 teams will compete for the last seven places in the World Cup Qualifiers. Of the qualified teams, 14 took part in the previous edition.
Returnees Scotland returns after last taking part in 2002. United States qualified after missing out in 2022.
Absentees South Korea failed to qualify for the first time since 1986, having made the previous nine editions. Canada didn't advance after making their first appearance since 1994 in 2022.
The highest ranked team to not qualify was France, ranked 16th, while the lowest ranked team to qualify was South Africa, ranked 18th.
DatesEventLocationQuotasQualifier(s)3 November 2022Hosts26 December 2023 – 29 June 20242023–24 FIH Pro League130 November 2024 – 29 June 20252024–25 FIH Pro League124 July – 3 August 20252025 Pan American Cup Montevideo19–17 August 2025 Championship14–7 September 20252025 Oceania Cup Darwin15–14 September 20252025 Asia Cup Hangzhou111–18 October 20252025 Africa Ismailia12–8 March 20262026 World Cup Qualifiers Santiago48–14 March 2026 Hyderabad3Total16
Summary of qualified teams
TeamQualification methodDate of qualificationAppearance(s)Previous best performanceWR Co-hosts3 November 2022197420224 (1978)3 197416 (Nine times)1 2023–24 FIH Pro League27 June 2024197416 (1976, 1981)5 2024–25 FIH Pro League22 June 2025197416 (2002, 2010)2 2025 Pan American Cup1 August 2025198320181 (1994)11 2025 EuroHockey Championship13 August 2025197420223 (2018)6 2025 Oceania Cup7 September 202519835 (1986)10 2025 Asia Cup14 September 2025199010 (2002)4 2025 Africa Cup of Nations18 October 202519988 (1998)18 2026 World Cup Qualifiers7 March 2026198113 (1994, 1998)8 20222 (2022)13 8 March 2026198620223 (2018)12 13 March 2026198312 (2010)7 19743 (1974)9 19784 (2006)15 14 March 2026198320021 (1983)14
Venues The Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre was renovated during the preparations for the tournament. The venue was completed in early 2026 and has a 4,000 capacity that was expanded to 10,000 for the tournament.https://www.fih.hockey/events/fih-hockey-worldcup-belgium-netherlands-2026/news/fih-hockey-world-cup-belgium-netherlands-one-month-to-go The Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen is 8,000 but was also expanded to 10,000 for the event.https://hockeyworldcup2026.nl/en/news/news222-item-3
Amstelveen WavreWagener StadiumBelfius Hockey ArenaCapacity: 10,000Capacity: 10,000
Draw
The final draw took place at 15:00 CET on 17 March 2026 at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Model and presenter, Joyce Colfs, hosted the draw. Field Hockey players, Naomi van As, Barbara Nelen and Teun de Nooijer, alongside Dutch rapper , were the guests who assisted the draw. The draw started with the co-hosts being placed into their respective groups held in their country, as well as the two remaining pot 1 teams, Argentina and China, being pre-drawn into groups B and D respectively. The draw continued with, in order, pots 4, 3 and 2 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the schedule). There were no restrictions.
Seeding + Pot 1Team (H) (H) + Pot 2Team + Pot 3Team + Pot 4Team
Draw results + Group A in the Netherlands TeamA1 (H)A2 A3 A4 + Group B in Belgium TeamB1 B2 B3 B4 + Group C in Belgium TeamC1 (H)C2 C3 C4 + Group D in the Netherlands TeamD1 D2 D3 D4
Schedule ScheduleRoundGamedayDatePreliminary roundGameday 1 15–16 August 2026Gameday 2 17–18 August 2026Gameday 3 19–20 August 2026Second roundClassification roundGameday 4 21–22 August 2026Gameday 5 23–24 August 2026Knockout stageSemi-finalsPlacement games27 August 2026Final29 August 2026
Umpires On 20 January 2026, 16 umpires were appointed by the FIH for this tournament.
Irene Presenqui (ARG) Aleisha Neumann (AUS) Kristy Robertson (AUS) Laurine Delforge (BEL) Magali Sergeant (BEL) Liu Xiaoying (CHN) Hannah Harrison (ENG) Rachel Williams (ENG) Alison Keogh (IRL) Amber Church (NZL) Victoria Pazos (PAR) Sarah Wilson (SCO) Annelize Rostron (RSA) Wanri Venter (RSA) Kim Yoon-seon (KOR) Ayanna McClean (TTO)
Squads
First round The hosts schedule was published on 30 September 2025. The match schedule was revealed on 18 March 2026.
All times are local (UTC+2).
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Second round Pool E
Pool F
Classification round Pool G
Pool H
15th place match
13th place match
Eleventh place match
Ninth place match
Seventh place match
Fifth place match
First to fourth place classification Bracket
Semifinals
Bronze medal match
Gold medal match
Final ranking
Goalscorers
Awards 2026 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup ArgentinaThird title
Team squad: Sofía Toccalino, Agustina Gorzelany, Valentina Raposo, Agostina Alonso, María Granatto (Captain), Cristina Cosentino, Victoria Sauze, Sofía Cairó, Victoria Granatto, Eugenia Trinchinetti, Lara Casas, Juana Castellaro, Paula Ortíz, Julieta Jankunas, Victoria Miranda, Zoe Díaz, Mercedes Artola, Emma Knobl, Brisa Bruggesser, Milagros Alastra.Head Coach: Fernando Ferrara
The awards were announced on 29 August 2026.
Award Player Player of the tournament Charlotte Englebert Goalkeeper of the tournament Jocelyn Bartram Young player of the tournament Zoe Díaz
Broadcasting rights The television channels broadcasting the event was as follows:https://www.fih.hockey/events/fih-hockey-worldcup-belgium-netherlands-2026/where-to-watch
Qualified teams TerritoryRights holder
Non-qualified teams TerritoryRights holderAmericasMiddle EastSouth AsiaRest of World
Notes
See also 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 FIH Para Hockey World Cup
References
External links
Official website