donderdag 28 augustus 2025 12:07
donderdag 28 augustus 2025 12:07
After extensive deliberations and many discussions, WMH has announced and published its decision on where and when the Masters Hockey World Cup 2026 will take place.
First of all, we would like to thank the entire Bid Committee. Under the inspiring leadership of Henk Vogels, the committee further consisted of: Brigitte Motte, Nini Fieringa, Judith Sijbers, Anthony Leidensdorf, Jart Sluiter, and Mark-Jan Kleijsen. They represented the Belgian and Dutch Masters Hockey associations, namely: Belgium: Old Panthers, Old Lions; Netherlands: Masters Hockey Nederland (MHN), and the Nederlandse Hockeyclub 60+ (NHC60+). Together they created the unique BEL/NED bid of which we are truly proud.
We thank them for their expertise, energy, dedication, and the enormous amount of time they invested in putting a fantastic bid together. In this bid, six clubs from Belgium and the Netherlands proposed to work together to host the World Cup during a single 10-day timeframe. This tournament would have provided a magnificent gathering of players, coaches, umpires, officials, volunteers, and fans from all over the world—both on and off the field—while also creating a strong lead-in to the FIH WC tournament scheduled shortly afterwards in Brussels and Amsterdam.
However, WMH has decided not to select our joint bid.
We, the four Masters associations and especially the bid committee, have therefore not been rewarded for this exceptional proposal. In our view, the global hockey community will experience a less unique event. That said, the World Cups remain an extraordinary spectacle, with world titles at stake and, still, in the Belgium/Netherlands combination—allowing for three major World Cups hosted in the Low Countries.
There will be three tournaments (National & International Masters Cups; WMH refers to these as T1 to T4) organised in Belgium and the Netherlands on different dates. WMH has made the following choices:
* Please note: attendance is mandatory one day prior to the tournament for equipment checks, passport controls, etc.
We wish the clubs and WMH every success with the organisation of the World Cups.
We can recommend our travel partner The Hockey Department (known for their excellent knowledge of hockey needs when away from home) for all foreign teams and fans who seek travel and lodging accomodations.
T +34 626 747 783 | M:+34 626 747 783 | E ofni@thehockeydepartment.com | https://thehockeydepartment.com/contact/
Our special thanks also go to the clubs that placed their trust in us by joining the submitted bid. Finally, we wish to thank KNHB Delegate Bert Bunnik for his extraordinary efforts to bring all parties into alignment —from the four Masters associations to the two national federations, WMH, and even the FIH, which unfortunately did not come to pass.
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