Hockey is one of the most popular sports and millions of people around the world enjoy it. The game, which is played maneuvering an object with a stick, towards the goal of their opponents, has reference in many ancient cultures. The ancient Romans, Greeks, Persians, and Arabs had their own versions of the game. Today, it is a major sport played by many nations. The sport has several variants such as Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Roller Hockey, Street Hockey to name a few and a number of tournaments are held every year.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH), which is the international governing body for field hockey as well as indoor field hockey, organizes several international tournaments. The most significant among these is the World Cup. Founded in 1924, the organization’s headquarters are based in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The current president of the organization is Narinder Batra.
The International Hockey Federation comprises 128 countries within five confederations: African Hockey Federation, Asian Hockey Federation, European Hockey Federation, Oceania Hockey Federation, and Pan American Hockey Federation.
The African Hockey Federation comprises 24-member associations. Some nations that are included in the African Hockey Federation are Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Kenya, Burundi, Swaziland, Nigeria, South Africa, to name a few.
The governing body for field hockey in Asia is the Asian Hockey Federation which comprises a 31-member association. The current president of the federation is Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. Some member associations of the Asian Hockey Federation are; China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Oman, Qatar, among others.
European Hockey Federation comprises a 43-member association. Based in Brussels, Belgium, European Hockey Federation organizes the Euro Hockey League. While, Great Britain is a member association of EHF, Scotland, England, and wales are also represented in FIH sanctioned tournaments independently. Some other European nations that are member associations of EHF are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, etc.
The governing body for field hockey in Oceania, the Oceania Hockey Federation organizes the Oceania Cup. It has eight-member associations which are Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Samoa Western.
Comprising 30-member countries, the Pan American Hockey Federation is the governing body for indoor and field hockey in the Americas. Some nations that are member associations of the Pan American Hockey Federation are Canada, the United States, Cuba, Brazil, Guyana, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and some other nations.
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