The London 2012 Olympic Hockey competition schedule has been confirmed, revealing when the teams will play each other in the preliminary rounds of the tournaments on the Olympic Park.
The first match will see Australia’s women take on neighbours New Zealand, while Great Britain women’s first match will be against Japan. The current Olympic Champions Netherlands’ first game is against Belgium, who are making their first appearance at an Olympic Games.
In the men’s competition, the current Olympic Champions Germany start their tournament with a match against Belgium, while Great Britain’s first match will be against Argentina. Saturday 5 August will see the top two ranked teams in each pool go head-to-head, with Germany playing the Netherlands and Great Britain playing Australia.
The Hockey competition will take place at the Riverbank Arena on the Olympic Park which hosted the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament earlier this month as part of the London Prepares series.
Based on world rankings, the 12 teams in both tournaments are divided into two pools of six, and each team plays every other in their pool. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners then going head-to-head for the Gold medal. The other teams in the two groups play each other to determine final placings.
Women: Pool A
Netherlands (FIH world ranking – 1)
Great Britain (FIH world ranking – 4)
China (FIH world ranking – 5)
Korea (FIH world ranking – 8 )
Japan (FIH world ranking – 9)
Belgium (FIH world ranking – 16)
Women: Pool B
Argentina (FIH world ranking – 2)
Germany (FIH world ranking – 3)
New Zealand (FIH world ranking – 6)
Australia (FIH world ranking – 7)
United States of America (FIH world ranking – 10)
South Africa (FIH world ranking – 12)
Men: Pool A
Australia (FIH world ranking – 1)
Great Britain (FIH world ranking – 4)
Spain (FIH world ranking – 5)
Pakistan (FIH world ranking – 8 )
Argentina (FIH world ranking – 9)
South Africa (FIH world ranking – 12)
Men: Pool B
Germany (FIH world ranking – 2)
Netherlands (FIH world ranking – 3)
Korea (FIH world ranking – 6)
New Zealand (FIH world ranking – 7)
India (FIH world ranking – 10)
Belgium (FIH world ranking – 11)
View the complete London Hockey competition schedule
The first game at the Riverbank Arena takes place on Sunday 29 July, with the first semi-finals taking place on Wednesday 8 August for the women and Thursday 9 August for the men. The women’s final is on Friday 10 August and the men’s on Saturday 11 August.
About Riverbank Arena:
The Riverbank Arena is a temporary stadium based at the northern end of the Olympic Park. The centre will be the only fully outdoor venue on the Olympic Park with seating for 16,000 spectators who will enjoy stunning views south across the Park.
The complex includes two pitches, one for competition and one for warm up. The main pitch will stage all of the 76 Olympic hockey matches which will be spread over 14 days of competition from 29 July to 11 August. There will be over 380 competitors from 24 teams competing in the men’s and women’s competitions.
The Riverbank Arena will also be used to host both the 5 and 7-a-side Paralympic Football Competitions. The warm up pitch at the Riverbank Arena will host the 5-a-side competition. The main pitch will host the 7-a-side competition. Competition runs from 31 August – 9 September 2012.
After the Games, the temporary arena will be dismantled and elements will be moved to Eton Manor in the north of the Olympic Park which will offer multi-purpose sport and leisure facilities including two FIH global standard hockey pitches.
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com.
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