Start of the new cycle: round 1 of the Hockey World League in Salamanca

The tournament in Salamanca to give visa to USA or Mexico for proceeding into round 2

Field hockey is lately gaining more and more popularity all over the world and one of the principal reasons for that is its popularization through the FIH Hockey World League. This competition usually is held in duration of two years and the best teams use it for gaining a qualifying visa to the Olympic Games or the Hockey World Cup. The new Round 1 of the Hockey World League in Europe starts with the tournament in Salamanca on 27th of September. Top teams from Central and North America will start the new cycle that can lead them to the top most competitions. Whether you are a field hockey fan or you simply want to bet on sports in Mexico, this is an event you should not miss.

The format of the competition and the past champions

The field Hockey World League is a relatively new competition. It was formed in 2012 as an initiative that might popularize this sport all over the globe. It comprises tournaments for both men and women which compete in groups of four to eight teams, mainly formed regionally, in four rounds. The top teams from each round proceed into the next until reaching the final in the competition. In the past two cycles the teams that showed best performance are two of the teams with the longest field hockey tradition. In the men’s competition these were the national teams of the Netherlands and Australia, while in the women’s the champions came from Argentina and the Netherlands. The Dutch teams, the men’s as well the women’s have also the best world players for the past season: Robert van der Horst and Lidewij Welten, who make the Dutch squad full of stars an even greater favorite on all hockey field competitions.

The Hockey World League 2016/17: round 1

For the cycle 2016/17 the International Hockey Federation (FIH) determined eight locations for the first round of the men’s Hockey World League: Accra in Ghana, Singapore in Singapore Prague in the Czech Republic, Salamanca in Mexico, Chiclayo in Peru, Suva in Fiji, Antalya in Turkey and Glasgow in Scotland.

• Field hockey increases popularity through the Hockey World League

• The Netherlands and Australia most successful nations so far

• Mexico: favorite for passing the Salamanca group

As online sportsbooks in US note, in most of the groups so far the favorites proved their role and secured the first position. In the African groups that is the case with the team of Ghana, in Turkey the winner was clearly Austria, in Scotland and Fiji the hosts, China won the tournament in Singapore, while Ukraine was best in Prague.

The Salamanca tournament at the Hockey World League 2016/17

The upcoming tournament in Salamanca is the penultimate one of the first round. The only one that will be hold later is the one in Peru which starts on October, 01. In Salamanca we will see five of the best Pan-American teams competing between each other: the hosts Mexico, USA, Guatemala, Barbados and Panama. The battle for the top of the group will certainly be between the host Mexico and the United States.

The US team is currently ranked 28th while the Mexicans are 34th on the latest world rang list by the International Hockey Federation. Although, as internet betting sites in EU state both of them are without doubt far from the top teams in the field hockey, the first place and the procession into another round seem to be a must for both teams. The squat of Marco Molina will have the home support on the field but whether that will be sufficient for the group top is something we cannot predict. On the other side, betting sites in Russia rightly claim that Kevin Barber, Pat Harris, William Holt and Co. will try everything in their power to bring the US finally more closer to the Olympics. Their last attendance was in 1996 when they were hosts in Atlanta. The epilogue of the Salamanca gorup will be revealed at the beginning of October.