Field Hockey hopes 5-a-side format will one day join the Summer Games

As Olympic sports look to expand their offerings to younger audiences, field hockey is set to debut a five-a-side World Cup lineup with eyes toward becoming an IOC sanctioned event.

This weekend in Lausanne, Switzerland, the IOC will have a front row seat to observe the Hockey5s tournament being hosted by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Although Hockey5s is already featured at the Youth Olympics, it has been met with resistance from some traditional powerhouse national teams. The fear is that the 11-a-side could be replaced by the IOC or be dropped completely.

However having fewer 11-a-side teams participating in the Olympics could help facilitate the growth of Hockey5s. It would also create more space for the sport at the games.

Chief executive of the International Hockey Federation, Thierry Weil sees the paired down 5s format as a way to expand the sport, much like the 3x3 FIBA and Olympic competitions.

“That was the biggest threat to them, (losing the 12 player roster) if we are clever we can increase the number of medal events” Weil told the Associated Press in a recent interview.

Field hockey 5s could mimic the path basketball has taken in becoming an additional IOC discipline. The 3x3 street version of basketball debuted with much fanfare at the Tokyo Olympics as the IOC continues to promote urban style events, even break dancing.

Basketball’s 3x3 format has made global competition even more competitive as evidenced the Latvian men’s gold medal win last Summer in Japan. Basketball which is usually dominated by the US saw the American men’s team not even qualify for the Tokyo games, while the women’s side welcomed newcomer Mongolia.

According to the Weil, countries such as Chile and Austria could potentially benefit from field hockey’s evolution. The goal of Hockey5s is to make it easier to develop and less expensive to play, compared to the 11-a-side game.

The 11-a-side game must be played on high-quality turf and grass fields increasing costs for countries that may have limited budgets.

“Its a really good sport,” Weil said of 11-a-side hockey, “it’s an athletic sport with good rules but it’s an elite sport. The investment you need makes it impossible to do [for many nations]. We need to make it cool for the younger generation.”

Traditional powerhouse India is sending a 5s team roster to Lausanne this weekend and supports the five-team lineup. Next up for Hockey5s will be in January 2024 when Oman hosts an inaugural World Cup for the format.