Who Invented Field Hockey? | Timeline of History

In this post, there will be a timeline of the history of field hockey. It will cover the ancient history and origins, the Olympics, and the transition to modern hockey as we know it. All the tournaments and cups are added to the timeline, as well as the changes to the champions trophy, world league and pro league.

A quick intro to field hockey

It’s believed to be one of the oldest games played with a ball and stick. while it transformed into the modern hockey we know today in England, there is a rich ancient history that stretches from the Chinese dynasties to Aztec empires, and to Greek civilisations.

Hockey has been included in the Olympic Games since 1908. It is one of the most popular team sports in the Olympics due to its widespread popularity and long history of international competition.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) works with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make sure the sport’s inclusion in the Games. This is based on various criteria, including popularity, participation levels, and global reach.

2,000 BC

• Some early versions of hockey were played in Egypt, Persia, and Ethiopia.
• The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Aztecs also played similar games around this time.
• An Ancient Egyptian tomb – the burial site of Beni-Hasen in the Nile Valley – depicted two figures playing a game with sticks and a ball.
• This provided valuable insight into the history of the sport and the length of time it has been played.

510 BC

• An image shows a game similar to hockey being played with a horn and a ball in Ancient Greece.
• Researchers are unsure whether it was a team or one-on-one activity.
• Greeks might have even played a version of the game called ‘keretizein’ where they used a special horn and ball.

300 BC

• Games similar to hockey were played in East Asia around this time, using a carved wooden stick and ball.

1100s AC

• The team ball games of hurling in Ireland and Knattleikr in Iceland involved sticks to drive a ball to the opponent’s goal in Northern Europe,
• A team ball game called ‘la soule’ or ‘choule’ was regularly played in France and southern Britain between villages. 

1163 AC

• Edward III of England issued a proclamation that explicitly forbade the game of ‘’acularem’. This game of ‘’acularem’ is believed to be some form of hockey as ‘baculum’ is Latin for ‘stick’.

1368 AC

• The Daur people in Inner Mongolia, China have been playing a game called ‘beikou’ for about 1,000 years, having similarities to hockey. 
• Another variant called ‘suigan’ was played during the Ming dynasty in China around this time.

1500s

• In Chil, and around nearby areas of South America, a game called ‘chueca’ was played by the local natives, sharing common elements with hockey.

1600s

• Chile’s local natives played a game called ‘chueca’, which shared common elements with hockey.

1700s

• When India was in Punjab state, a game called ‘khido khundi’ was played.
• Fun fact: there is a movie called this, about two brothers who share a love of hockey.

1800s

• The modern game of hockey was developed in England – through the school system. 

1849

• The first known club was formed in London, in south-east Blackheath, called ‘Blackheath Hockey Club’.
• Nowadays it’s called ‘The Blackheath & Elthamians Hockey Club’.

1876

• The first Hockey Association in the world was founded.  
• They drew up the first formal set of rules, with the original association surviving for just six years before being revived by nine founding member clubs in 1886.

1886

• Teddington Hockey Club, formed in 1871, introduced major variations in the game in 1886, such as, banning the use of hands and lifting sticks above the shoulder
• Replacing the rubber cube with a sphere as the ball
• Introducing a striking circle.
• These changes were incorporated into the rules of the newly founded Hockey Association in London in 1886.

1887

• The first women’s hockey club was formed the Molesey Ladies Club.
• Women’s field hockey started to be played in British universities and schools.
• Women were initially prohibited from playing field hockey due to safety concerns.

1894

• The two oldest trophies in field hockey that originated around this time are ‘The Irish Senior Cup’ and ‘The Irish Junior Cup’ – 1894 and 1895, respectively.
• The Irish Ladies Hockey Union was established, and women’s field hockey grew rapidly worldwide despite initial resistance from the Hockey Association formed in London in 1886.

1895

• The first international competition took place.
• The game was between Ireland and Wales. Ireland won 3-0.

1900

• The International Rules Board was founded.

1901

• Field hockey was brought to the United States by a lady called Constance Applebee.
• She toured the Seven Sisters colleges to introduce the sport to a wider audience.

1908

• Field hockey was first played at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920.
• But it was dropped in 1912 and the 1924 (Paris) games.

1922

• The United States Field Hockey Association was formed.
• This helped lead and organise the sport for women.

1924

• The Fédération Internationale de Hockey sur Gazon (FIH) was founded by Frenchman Paul Léautey in response to hockey’s omission from the 1924 Paris Games.
• The 7 national federations, including Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain, and Switzerland, formed the sport’s international governing body.

1927

• The International Federation of Women’s Hockey Association (IFWHA) was established.
• This developed the women’s game quickly in many countries.
• They held conferences every three years with non-competitive tournaments associated with them until 1975.
• Many continental European countries did not join the IFWHA and instead played as sections of men’s associations affiliated with the FIH.

1928

• Hockey was reinstated as an Olympic sport, due to the formation of FIH.
• This is when hockey had its greatest success in colonial India, where it grew rapidly and won the Olympic gold medal every year from 1928 to 1956.
• The United States officially got involved in field hockey and played their first official match against the Westchester Hockey Club and the Germantown Cricket club. 

1950s

• Indoor hockey originated in Germany during the 1950s and quickly spread to other European nations. 
• Belgium also adopted the variant, and in 1966 René Frank convinced the German Hockey Associations to give responsibility for the rules of Indoor Hockey to the FIH. 

1968

• The FIH recognized indoor hockey in its constitution, and the first FIH-sanctioned tournament matches were played in 1972. 

1968

• The FIH recognized indoor hockey in its constitution, and the first FIH-sanctioned tournament matches were played in 1972. 

1970

• Artificial turf in field hockey began to become more popular.
• This led to changes in tactics and techniques such as the Indian dribble.
• The Hockey World Cup was created by Pakistan’s Air Marshal Nur Khan and approved by the FIH Council.

1971

• The first hockey world cup took place. 
• It was scheduled to be held in Pakistan, but political issues caused the tournament to be relocated.
• It was moved to Barcelona, Spain. 
• The FIH has set no requirements for the size of the competition, meaning the first Cup featuring ten nations and the most recent Cup featuring sixteen nations (in 2023). 
• The tournament was held every two years until 1978, after which it has been held every four years.

1974

• First woman’s world cup
• 22 associations with women’s sections in the FIH 
• 36 associations in the IFWHA (International Federation of Women’s Field Hockey Association). 
• This is when the first common rule book was created.
• The FIH introduced competitive tournaments, forcing the acceptance of the principle of competitive field hockey by the IFWHA in 1973. 

1978

• The Champions Trophy was founded in 1978 by Pakistan’s Air Marshal Nur Khan and the Pakistan Hockey Federation.
• This created a field hockey tournament for the world’s top-ranked teams.

1980

• Women’s field hockey was included for the first time in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

1982

• IFWHA merged with FIH, allowing women’s hockey to be included in the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
• Men’s Hockey Asia Cup was established. A field hockey tournament organized by the Asian Hockey Federation. 
• The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and qualifies for the FIH Hockey World Cup. 

1983

• Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is established. It’s an annual international men’s field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. 
• It was initially a biennial, but it became an annual event after 1998. 
• The tournament is named after Sultan Azlan Shah, the ninth king of Malaysia who supported field hockey. 

1985:

• The women’s Hockey Asia Cup was started. 
• It’s a major international women’s hockey competition.

1987

• The Champions Trophy added a women’s tournament. Held biannually.

1997

• The Men’s AHF Cup is an international men’s field hockey competition in Asia organized by the Asian Hockey Federation. 
• The tournament is held every four years and serves as a qualification tournament for the next Men’s Asia Cup.

1998

• The Commonwealth Games was established and occurs every 4 years.
• Field hockey is a core sport that must be included in the program of each edition of the Games.

2001

• The Men’s Hockey Champions Challenge I was an international men’s field hockey tournament, introduced by FIH. 
• It was played every two years and aimed to broaden hockey’s competitive base at the world level. 
• The last tournament was held in 2014 in Malaysia and won by South Korea. 
• It was replaced by the FIH Hockey World League in 2014 after eight editions.

2003

• The men’s and woman’s Indoor Hockey World Cup was established.
• It’s an international indoor field hockey tournament organized by FIH and occurs every four years.

2009

• The Men’s Hockey Champions Challenge II was an international field hockey competition introduced by the International Hockey Federation in 2009. 
• The tournament was held every uneven year and contested by eight teams who did not usually compete in the Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge. 
• The winner of the competition was promoted to the subsequent tournament of the Champions Challenge I.
• The competition was discontinued in 2014 and replaced by the FIH Hockey World League.

2011

• The Sultan of Johor Cup is an annual under-21 men’s field hockey tournament held in Malaysia since 2011. 
• India and Great Britain are the most successful, having won it three times each.

2014

• The Men’s FIH Hockey World League was an international field hockey competition organized by FIH. 
• It was held for three seasons from 2012 to 2017 and served as a qualifier for the 2014 and 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cups and the 2016 Olympic Games. 
• It was replaced by the new Men’s FIH Pro League and Hockey Series in 2018-19.

2018

• Summer Youth Olympics saw field hockey for the first time hockey 5s was played.
• The boys’ and girls’ tournaments took place at the Parque Polideportivo Roca

2019

• The Men’s FIH Pro League is an international men’s field hockey competition organised by FIH. 
• It also serves as a qualifier for the Hockey World Cup and the Olympic Games. The competition started in 2019 with nine teams securing their places for four years.

2022

• The 2022 Men’s FIH Hockey5s was a field hockey series held in the Hockey5s format at the Place de la Navigation in Lausanne
• It was the first senior international tournament hosted by FIH in the Hockey5s format and was held alongside a women’s event. India won the tournament by beating Poland 6-4 in the final.