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In a big update from the world of hockey, it has now been confirmed that Belgium and the Netherlands will co-host the women and men's hockey World Cups in 2026. The same was decided during the virtual meeting of the Executive Board headed by FIH Acting President Seif Ahmed.

Notably, the joint-World Cups are scheduled to take place in either July or August 2026, in Amsterdam/Amstelveen, Netherlands and Wavre, Belgium.

"The combined event will take place in July or August 2026 in Amsterdam/Amstelveen, Netherlands and Wavre, Belgium, with female and male teams playing in both venues," the International Hockey Federation said in an official statement.

FIH CEO Thierry Weil, while commenting on the development stated: "On behalf of FIH, I would like to thank wholeheartedly all National Associations that submitted a bid."

"We received excellent proposals, and it was therefore a particularly challenging task to decide," he added.

"We’re very much looking forward to working with the National Associations of the current Women’s and Men’s World and Olympic Champions, the Netherlands and Belgium respectively, that will undoubtedly put together outstanding World Cups," he further said.

Other than the announcement of the hosts, the Executive Board received an elaborate report on the FIH finances which reveals that the final profit for 2022 is likely to be higher than what was budgeted for. In addition, the 2023 budget was also approved in this meeting which also hints at an operational profit largely due to the upcoming FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup in India.