FIH
World Cup
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The World Cup

The crowning achievement in international field hockey, the World Cup is held every four years to determine the men's and women's field hockey world champions.

Twelve teams earn spots in the World Cup including the automatic qualifying berth for the host country as well as berths for the champions of five continental tournaments (European Nations Cup, Americas Cup, Oceania Cup, Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations), the top two teams from the Olympic Games not already qualified and the top five placing teams teams at the World Cup Qualifying Tournaments.

The World Cup began with a men's tournament in 1971 before adding a women's tournament in 1974.  Originally held every two years, the World Cup is now a quadrennial event. The  1998 World Cup in Utrecht, The Netherlands was the first to include both the men's and women's tournament at the same host city.