IRELAND HAVE ANNOUNCED a 23-man squad for their FIH Pro League as they continue their preparations for the Olympics.
The competition consists of the top eight world ranked nations and another highly ranked nation, which is usually the winners of a designated Nations Cup competition. Ireland will be competing for the first time this Saturday and will play two series in India.
They go into the games having secured their spot at the Paris Olympics with victory over Korea last month.
Mark Tumilty’s side will be up against World Ranked #1 Netherlands, #3 India, #6 Australia and #8 Spain. Ireland, who are ranked at 11, are the underdogs in this season’s Pro League.
There is a parallel FIH Pro League competition taking place at the moment in Argentina which features the other four teams in the competition including Belgium (World Ranked #2), Germany (#5), Great Britain (England are world ranked #4), and Argentina (#7). Ireland will face these teams in future rounds of the FIH Pro League which will take place in May in Belgium, and June in London.
The Ireland squad has suffered some injury withdrawals while others have work commitments.
“I always said the Pro League was where we needed to be due to the level of opposition we get to play against,” said Tumilty after the announcement.
“We start against the Netherlands, Australia, Spain and then India. A chance to play against India in front of their home crowd is definitely something to look forward to. It will be a good barometer of where we are in relation to the other nations. I expect there will be a few tough games out there.”
Ireland Hockey Squad
Ireland Fixtures – Irish Time
February 10, 2024
- Ireland – Netherlands 12pm
February 13, 2024
- Australia – Ireland 12pm
February 15, 2024
- Spain – Ireland 12pm
February 16, 2024
- India – Ireland 2pm
The 42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
