FIH President and IOC Member Els van Breda Vriesman, and FIH Vice President Tony von Ondarza, have visited the new hockey stadium for the men’s BDO Hockey World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany.
Els and Tony were accompanied by a delegation including DHB President Stephan Abel and DHB General Secretary Uschi Schmitz on the visit to the stadium which has been built especially for the World Cup.
The stadium will be officially opened with a men’s four-nation tournament between Argentina, India, Spain and the home team over the Easter weekend.
The BDO Hockey World Cup will be held from 6-17 September this year, with hosts Germany aiming to defend the title they won in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur.
However they will face demanding opposition, with Olympic and Champions Trophy title holder Australia, three-time winners the Netherlands and rising force Spain among the early favourites for the world crown.
The Netherlands are the only team in men’s hockey to have claimed the World Cup on home soil, achieving the feat twice in 1973 (Amstelveen) and 1998 (Utrecht).
The final places in the World Cup field will be resolved at the BDO Hockey World Cup Qualifier in Changzhou, China from 12-23 April, with the top five finishers in the 12-team tournament booking their tickets to Germany.
Photo Caption:
Stephan Abel (DHB President), Els van Breda Vriesman (FIH President), Tony von Ondarza(FIH Vice President), Uschi Schmitz (DHB General Secretary), Lothar Backes (EWMG, Mönchengladbach), Norbert Nieland (CEO EWMG Mönchengladbach - owner of the stadium), Andreas Borrmann (Building Contractor, Fa.Langen, Mönchengladbach) and Michael Hilgers (Operating Company Warsteiner Hockey Park and Olympic gold medallist)
