Bhubaneswar,  (TIP)-The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Thursday, March 22,  released the new schedule for the fourth edition of FIH Pro League as per which India will take on New Zealand in the opener at home in October 2022. India will host the first set of matches with the men’s team starting its campaign against New Zealand on October 28 and Spain on October 30. They will play their return leg matches against New Zealand and Spain on October 4 and 6, respectively. Both the visitors New Zealand and Spain will also play a double-header against each other on October 29 and November 5.

As per the new format, the schedule will be divided into a series of date blocks, agreed by all parties, to assist with international and domestic competition planning, within which “mini-tournaments” will be played where several teams will gather in one venue to play two matches against each other.

This move will have a major positive impact on players’ welfare and the environment, thanks to a substantial reduction in the amount of travel needed for each team and the officials. Another great advantage of this revised format is that it increases the number of dates available for athletes to compete in their domestic leagues and club competitions, the FIH informed in a release on Thursday. For the first season with this new schedule, matches will be hosted in the following seven nations — Australia, Argentina, Belgium, England, India, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The matches will be held between October 28, 2022, to July 5, 2023.      Source: IANS