India offers to host inaugural World Inter-Club hockey championship

International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre on Friday said that India has offered to host the inaugural edition of the World Inter-Club Championship in 2013.

Negre, here to witness the ongoing Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, said the FIH was considering making the proposed tournament an eight-team event for both men and women.

“India has agreed to bear the cost of the World Inter-Club Championship, which will be a knock-out competition played over one weekend,” said Negre at a seminar for young umpires conducted jointly by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).

“Five of these teams will be the top clubs from different continents, while three other clubs will be wild-cards decided by the FIH,” he said.

“We believe it will be a good thing to give club sides such a platform to develop players and also unearth new talent for member nations,” said the FIH chief, an Olympian himself.

Negre said the FIH was also considering the proposal to introduce a Five Continents Hockey Tournament.

He said the FIH was considering 2013 as the year to introduce this event in the international calendar, but only after resolving the question of congestion and financial burden on the continental federations.

“We’re considering this event a year after the 2012 Olympic Games in London and again after the 2014 World Cup in The Hague,” Negre said.

“This tournament will ensure that the best players get to represent their respective continents,” the FIH chief added.

Asian Hockey Confederation’s (AHC) secretary general, P. Alagendra said that the AHF had informed the FIH of its offer to host the inter-continents hockey.

“We’re hopeful that the inter-continental event will be held in 2013,” said Alagendra.