Pak, India hockey teams to clash next year in UK in FIH Pro League

KARACHI: Pakistan and India’s senior hockey teams will face each other in the FIH Pro League in London, United Kingdom, in June 2026, as the schedule for the FIH Pro League 2025–26 has been released, The News has learnt on Sunday.

According to the complete schedule of the FIH Pro League 2025–26 for both men’s and women’s events released by the FIH, the Pakistan hockey team will play 14 matches starting from December 10, 2025, and continuing until June 26, 2026.

This will be the first time that Pakistan is participating in this prestigious hockey competition. It will be the seventh edition of the FIH Pro League, featuring the world’s top hockey-playing nations. Pakistan’s absence from the previous editions has been one of the major factors behind the team’s decline at the international level. The lack of exposure to tough, high-level matches contributed to Pakistan dropping to its lowest-ever world ranking — 17th.

According to the schedule, Pakistan’s fixtures are as follows:

December 10 – vs Netherlands

December 12 – vs Argentina

December 13 – vs Netherlands

December 15 – vs Argentina

February 10 (2026) – vs Australia

February 11 – vs Germany

February 13 – vs Australia

February 14 – vs Germany

June 14 – vs TBC (to be confirmed)

June 20 – vs Spain

June 23 – vs India

June 24 – vs England

June 26 – vs India

Meanwhile, the training camp for Pakistan’s senior hockey team began at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad on Sunday.

Head coach Olympian Tahir Zaman said the Green Shirts are taking their upcoming three-match series against Bangladesh very seriously, as the winner will qualify for the 2026 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup Qualification Tournaments.

He added that the training camp started on Sunday and that most players are already in good form, with some having represented the national junior team in the 2025 Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia, while others have been active in domestic competitions.

A few players currently participating in foreign hockey leagues will join the camp in the next few days. “We do not consider Bangladesh a weak side. Modern hockey has changed, and any team can cause an upset. These matches are very important for us,” Tahir said.

The matches against Bangladesh will be played in Dhaka on November 13, 14, and 16. The winner will qualify for the 2026 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup Qualification Tournaments.

Tahir Zaman added that the team’s training and preparation will be conducted keeping in view the demands of the FIH Pro League 2025–26, which begins in December.

He further said that the training camp will focus on several key areas, including improving goal-scoring through penalty corners and field goals, strengthening attack and defense strategies, and enhancing coordination between forwards and defenders. Individual player development and team combination will also be an important part of the camp.