Women's FIH Pro League
International field hockey competition
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The Women's FIH Pro League is an international women's field hockey competition organized by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), which replaces the Women's FIH Hockey World League. The competition also serves as a qualifier for the Hockey World Cup and the first edition also did for the Olympic Games.[1]
Current season, competition or edition: 2025–26 Women's FIH Pro League | |
 | |
| Formerly | Hockey World League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Field hockey |
| Founded | 2017 |
| First season | 2019 |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Continent | International (FIH) |
Most recent champion |  Netherlands (6th title) (2025–26) |
| Most titles | Netherlands (6 titles) |
| Relegation to | FIH Hockey Nations Cup |
| Website | fihproleague.com |
The first edition was started in 2019. Nine teams secured their places for four years.
Format
Nine teams will compete in a round-robin tournament with home and away matches, played from January to June, with the top four teams advancing to the grand final at a pre-determined location.[2] In July 2017, Hockey India decided to withdraw both the men's and women's national teams from the competition as they estimated the chances of qualifying for the Summer Olympics to be higher when participating in the Hockey Series. Hockey India also cited lack of clarity in the ranking system.[3][4] The International Hockey Federation subsequently invited Belgium instead.[5]
On 17 September 2021, both, New Zealand and Australia, withdrew from the 2021–22 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions coming with it.[6][7] They were replaced by India and Spain on 8 October 2021.[8] For the 2023–24 season, New Zealand withdraw and was replaced by the United States.[9]
- Current teams
- Former teams
Ireland (relegated from 2025–26 season)
New Zealand (withdrew for the 2025–26 season)
United States (relegated from 2023–24 season)
2020 format changes
For the 2020 edition, the home and away principle is kept but this principle will now be split over two consecutive seasons and work according to the following example:[10]
- in 2020, Team A will host Team B twice within a couple of days
- in 2021, Team B will host Team A twice within a couple of days
Also this new format removes the grand final event, held in the previous edition.[citation needed]
2022 format changes
From 2022 onwards the bottom team at the end of the season will be relegated and will be replaced by the winner of a new competition called the Women's FIH Hockey Nations Cup.[11]
The home and away principle will be kept, however the season will be divided into date blocks. To assist with competition planning, international and national, several teams will gather in on venue to contest "mini-tournaments", wherein they each play two matches against one another.[citation needed]
Results
| Edition | Season | Final | Third place match | Teams GS / FR | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | ||||||
1 | 2019 | Netherlands |
2–2 (4–3 p.s.o.) |
 Australia |
 Germany |
1–1 (3–1 p.s.o.) |
 Argentina |
9 / 4 | |||
2 | 2020–21 | Netherlands | Round-robin | Argentina |
 Great Britain | Round-robin | Germany |
9 | |||
3 | 2021–22 | Argentina | Round-robin | Netherlands |
 India | Round-robin |  Belgium |
9 | |||
4 | 2022–23 | Netherlands | Round-robin | Argentina |
Australia | Round-robin | Belgium |
9 | |||
5 | 2023–24 | Netherlands | Round-robin | Germany |
Argentina | Round-robin | Belgium |
9 | |||
6 | 2024–25 | Netherlands | Round-robin | Argentina |
Belgium | Round-robin |  China |
9 | |||
7 | 2025–26 | Netherlands |
Round-robin | Argentina |
Belgium | Round-robin | China |
9 | |||
Summary
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands |
6 (2019*, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26) | 1 (2021–22) | ||
| Argentina |
1 (2021–22) | 4 (2020–21, 2022–23, 2024–25, 2025–26) | 1 (2023–24) | 1 (2019) |
| Germany |
1 (2023–24) | 1 (2019) | 1 (2020–21 | |
| Australia |
1 (2019) | 1 (2022–23) | ||
| Belgium |
2 (2024–25, 2025–26) | 3 (2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24) | ||
| Great Britain |
1 (2020–21) | |||
| India |
1 (2021–22) | |||
| China |
2 (2024–25, 2025–26) |
- * = Grand Final hosts
Performance by nations
| Team | 2019 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina |
4th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | Q | 8 |
| Australia |
2nd | 5th | WD | 3rd | 6th | 5th | 8th | Q | 6 |
| Belgium |
5th | 7th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | Q | 8 |
| China |
7th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 5th | 4th | 4th | Q | 8 |
 England |
Part of GB | 7th | Part of GB | 8th | 7th | Part of GB | 3 | ||
| Germany |
3rd | 4th | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 7th | 5th | Q | 8 |
| Great Britain |
8th | 3rd | – | 6th | 7th | – | – | Q | 4 |
| India |
– | – | 3rd | – | 8th | 9th  | – | Q | 4 |
 Ireland |
– | – | – | – | – | – | 9th [a] | – | 1 |
| Netherlands |
1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | Q | 8 |
 New Zealand |
6th | 6th | WD | 8th | WD[b] | – | WD[a] | – | 3 |
 Spain |
– | – | 5th | – | – | 6th | 6th | Q | 4 |
 United States |
9th | 9th | 9th | 9th | 9th[b] | – | – | – | 5 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
See also
Notes
- New Zealand withdrew and were replaced by Ireland to the 2025–26 Women's FIH Pro League.[14]
- New Zealand withdrew and were replaced by United States to the 2023–24 Women's FIH Pro League.[12][13]