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On Friday, June 14, Hockey India (HI) opened the player and team registrations for the Hockey India League, which is returning after an eight-year-long absence, setting the deadline for June 30. Notably, the HIL will be played between the last week of December 2024 to the first week of February 2025, a window approved by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
As per the current plan from the governing body of Indian hockey, the HIL 2024-25 will feature eight men’s and six women’s teams. Furthermore, the men’s and women’s HIL will be hosted simultaneously, which is going to be a first-of-its-kind occurrence in the history of the sport.
Hockey India has also invited players and support staff from the top 15 hockey-playing nations to register their names for the HIL, which is set to kick-start later this year.
The President of Hockey India, Dilip Tirkey, spoke about the latest development around the HIL and said, as per Sportstar, “We are elated to open the player registration for the Hockey India League 2024-2025 edition. This step signifies that we are close to restarting the HIL, a league that was loved by hockey players and fans across the world. We are confident that budding Indian hockey players will snatch at the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world.”
Shri Bhola Nath Singh, the Secretary General of Hockey India, “The HIL played a pivotal role in the resurgence of the Indian Hockey Teams and it is a matter of great joy and pride that we are on the verge of restarting it. The league will help improve the standard of young players and propagate a culture of hockey across the nation. We look forward to receiving heaps of applications from India and abroad.”
