IOC has started releasing qualification guidelines for different sports for LA 2028 Olympics. We plan to cover one sport each week.
You can check LA 2028 programme here.
On to the Hockey qualification guidelines now…
Hockey at the LA 2028 Olympics
Where will Hockey take place?
Badminton will be held at the Carson Field in Carson, California. This is going to be a temporary venue built for the games.
Dates for Competition:
12-29th July 2028
Medal Events: 28-29th July 2028
Events in Hockey at the LA Olympics:
Men’s Team Tournament, Women’s Team Tournament
Number of Quota Places:
Both Men’s and Women’s Team tournaments will have 12 teams in it. Each team will consist of 16 players and hence a total of 384 athletes will be part of the LA 2028 Olympics in Hockey.
How to Qualify:
Qualification quotas will be allocated in each of the Men’s and Women’s tournaments basis following:
Host Country Quota: 1 (If USA is ranked in the top 25 FIH World Ranking, they will secure 1 quota. Currently, both the USA Men’s & Women’s team is ranked in the top 25 World Ranking)
FIH Hockey Pro League Quotas: Winners of FIH Pro League season 2026 and 2027 will get 1 quota each. If the same team that wins Season 2026 also wins Season 2027, the quota place will be offered to the runner-up of Season 2027.
Continental Quotas: Winners of each of the 5 continental championships will get one quota each. The following competitions are considered for the continental quota:
- Africa – African Hockey Road to Los Angeles 2028 – 2027
- Americas – 20th Pan American Games – 2027
- Asia – 20th Asian Games – 2026
- Europe – EuroHockey Championship – 2027
- Oceania – Oceania Cup 2027
If USA ends up winning quota through Pan American Games, their host quota will go to the FIH Olympic qualifiers.
FIH Olympic Qualification Tournaments: 4 quotas will be given through Olympic Qualifiers to be held in early 2028. There will be 2 qualification tournaments and 2 quotas will be available in each tournament. Each tournament will consist of 8 teams. Teams who have not yet qualified for LA 2028 Olympics and are in the top-24 World Rankings will be part of these qualifiers.
Indian Chance of qualification:
Men’s Team: The Indian Men’s Team should most probably win their quota at the 2026 Asian Games. If not, they would be favourites to win quota at the Olympic qualifiers.
Women’s Team: Women’s Team failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The team got relegated from the FIH Pro League in 2025. Their form is quite concerning. However, the appointment of Sjoerd Marijne is a big positive. Let us see how they fare over the next two years.
Indian Olympic Medalists in Hockey:
The Indian Men’s team have won a total of 13 Olympic medals to date – 8 Gold, 1 Silver & 4 Bronze. The best finish for the women’s team was 4th place at the Tokyo Olympics.
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