SYDNEY TO HOST SIX MATCHES IN BRAND NEW INTERNATIONAL PRO-LEAGUE
Hockey NSW has welcomed today’s announcement that Sydney will be a host venue for six matches in the new FIH Pro-League beginning January 2019.
Sydney, along with Melbourne and Hobart, will all host matches in the Pro League which pits the world’s nine best men’s and women’s teams against each other on a home-and-away basis.
The majority of the early matches will be played in the southern hemisphere, meaning all Australian home matches will played in February and March, before the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras travel abroad, with the finals series due to be played in June.
Sydney Olympic Park will be the venue for the six matches, across three days during March 2019. The first match day will see the Hockeyroos take on the mighty USA, while the Kookaburras will meet Spain on Saturday 2 March.
In what is set to be a blockbuster match day, both Australian teams will take on Argentina on Saturday March 16th. Argentina’s men’s team were gold medallists at the 2016 Rio Olympics, while their women’s team are ranked third in the world.
The final match-day on Sunday March 17th will once again see both our teams in action, this time against our traditional rivals from New Zealand. When both countries last met at Sydney Olympic Park for the Oceania Cup in October 2017, the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras were both triumphant.
Hockey NSW CEO David Thompson said: “It is very exciting to be hosting some of the world’s best hockey players here at Sydney Olympic Park next year. It will be an amazing opportunity for the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos to play in front of a packed-out home crowd and in a prime-time television spot.
“Pro League will be the perfect curtain raiser for the 2019 hockey season and a great way to attract more young players to our sport. It will be an important tool to help drive our strategic intent of having 2020 12 year-olds playing hockey in NSW by the year 2020.
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Destination NSW for their assistance with getting this major international event to Sydney.”
All the FIH Pro League matches in Sydney are supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
2019 FIH Hockey Pro League – Australia Home Fixtures:
Saturday 2 February – Kookaburras v Netherlands; Hockeyroos v Netherlands – State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne
Sunday 3 February – Kookaburras v Belgium; Hockeyroos v Belgium – State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne
Saturday 9 February – Kookaburras v Pakistan; Hockeyroos v China – Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
Sunday 10 February – Kookaburras v Germany; Hockeyroos v Germany – Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
Saturday 16 February – Kookaburras v Great Britain; Hockeyroos v Great Britain – TBC
Saturday 2 March – Kookaburras v Spain; Hockeyroos v USA – Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney
Saturday 16 March – Kookaburras v Argentina; Hockeyroos v Argentina – Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney
Sunday 17 March – Kookaburras v New Zealand; Hockeyroos v New Zealand – Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney
To register your interest in the Pro League events and access early ticket releases, please click here.