In a new development, the Hockey India League’s Governing committee has announced that there would be no Hockey India League in the 2018 season. It is believed that this decision was taken amidst the clash of the Indian league format Hockey tournament with Indoor World Cup.
Earlier, It was decided that after hosting five successful editions that generated tremendous interest from hockey fans across the globe, the sixth edition of Hockey India League will be hosted in 2019. The Governing Committee, comprising representatives of Hockey India and other stakeholders, have unanimously decided to schedule the next edition of the league in 2019 instead of 2018 January and February.
Speaking post the decision the Chairman Hockey India League and Secretary General, Hockey India, Mr. Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, “After five years of successfully organizing the Hockey India League which has greatly helped unearth talent and significantly improved the National Team’s performances at both Junior and Senior level, we felt that it is time to review the League, evaluate its success and comeback with a fresh outlook that will benefit the development of the sport further and our franchises and stakeholders. This decision was made after consultation with all our commercial partners and meeting the contractual obligations of all parties involved.”
Clarifying further the reasons amidst the rumor that the FIH Hockey Pro League will have some adverse impact on the India based league, Ahmad said that this will only be a temporary discontinuation and that the Hockey India League will return in 2019. “Due to a conflict in dates of the schedule of Hockey India League 2018 and a major international tournament which was likely to restrict the participation of international players, it was decided that the best solution was to postpone the conduct of the sixth season of the League. I want to emphasize that we want to resume the League in 2019 albeit with greater prospects to make it more viable financially not only for the stakeholders but also for the players,” he added.
The league format has given rise to players who have gone on to make a name for themselves in World Hockey. One significant contribution has been in the success of the Indian Junior Men’s Team that won the 2016 Junior World Cup while the Indian Men’s Team advanced in the world ranking to a commendable No.6 position.
The foreign players too hugely benefited with the League. “Hockey India League has undoubtedly been a fantastic platform for players from around the world to showcase their talent and the participating teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience over the last five seasons. The Governing Committee would like to thank everyone involved with the HIL and all those who participated in the first five seasons of the tournament,” expressed Ahmad.