Hockey to make its debut as demo sport at Special Olympics World Games in Berlin

Hockey will make its debut at the Special Olympics World Games as a demonstration sport in the form of Hockey ID, said International Hockey Federation (FIH) on June 16.

As per FIH, Hockey ID, a sport for those with Intellectual Disabilities, at the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin.

The games which begin on June 17, and run till June 25, will feature over 7,000 athletes across 26 summer sports from 190 delegations.

''Hockey ID was chosen as a demonstration sport as one of the two sports from a pool of ten sports, with a key factor that sealed the deal for Hockey ID’s inclusion being the willingness of the FIH, the EHF, and other national hockey associations to work in partnership with the Special Olympics,'' an official statement by FIH read.

It further said that the Hockey ID matches will run from 18 June to 24 June and feature 13 mixed-gender teams representing 4 continental hockey federations. 

''Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, and Spain will all have squads of 10 players present at the games, with hosts Germany being represented by two teams,'' it added.

The matches will be played in a 6-a-side format, on half-sized hockey pitches with each game consisting of two halves of 15 minutes and each team will field 6 players at one time with 4 additional players available to be substituted in. 

''Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Egypt, Netherlands, Pakistan, and Germany (team 1) have been placed in Pool A, while Paraguay, Czech Republic, France, Chile, Bulgaria, and Germany (team 2) have been placed in Pool B,'' the statement read further. 

FIH said that the preliminary rounds will be played from 18 to 22 June, followed by knockout rounds on 22 and 23 June, and the finals and the award ceremony are scheduled for 24 June. 

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