Staging Hockey World Cup at Tottenham Hotspur will ‘sustain the sport for years’
England Hockey is pinning its hopes of hosting the men’s World Cup in 2026 on staging matches in bigger venues than the sport usually visits, such as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 62,000-capacity ground has been earmarked to host finals weekend if the joint bid from England and Wales is selected in early November.
“This is about putting the sport onto a national and global platform that we believe will sustain it for years to come,” England Hockey CEO Nick Pink told City PM
England and Wales’s bid is up against rival proposals from Germany, South Africa and a joint submission from Belgium and the Netherlands.
The other stadia in the bid are all rugby grounds: the Stoop, home of Harlequins, Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton, and Cardiff Arms Park.
“As a nation we get behind major events – we saw that this year with the Commonwealth Games and the women’s Euros,” added Pink.
“There is no doubt that if we can really push the boundaries and take the sport to stadia that it hasn’t been part of before, that lends itself to inspiring new people to take part in the game.”
England players visited Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday to rally support for the bid, which the public can back via the websites of England Hockey and Hockey Wales. A decision is due on 4 or 5 November.
Pink said: “I think we’ve got a really appealing and exciting bid and we genuinely believe we could deliver something transformational and inspirational for the game.”