Junior Hockey World Cup to be held behind closed doors without fans

In a big blow for hockey fans, the FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup will be held behind closed doors.

The Junior Hockey World Cup will commence at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on November 24. The tournament will only be a telecast-only affair as Hockey India and FIH have jointly decided to hold the marquee event without fans.

The organizers felt that with the sheer popularity of hockey in the region, the expected crowds in the stadium would be huge. Thus any COVID-19 prevention protocols, including social distancing, would be difficult to implement.

For the organizers, it is imperative to hold the tournament in an environment where the health and safety of the participating teams is of paramount importance.

Read: FIH Hockey Junior World Cup 2021: Teams, pools and match details

While Kalinga Stadium will only be open to accredited personnel and participants of the tournament, fans can tune in and cheer for their favorite teams and players, across platforms around the world.

The Junior World Cup will see 16 teams in the fray. The participating teams include defending champions and hosts India, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Egypt, France, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands and the United States.

After five days of pool stage games, the classification matches will be held from November 30. The quarter-finals will be played on December 1, semi-finals on December 3 while the title clash is scheduled for December 5.

Health protocols for Junior Hockey World Cup

The players, officials and all other personnel attending the Junior World Cup must undergo a pre-arrival RT-PCR COVID-19 test, 72 hours before departure, and a mandatory COVID-19 test upon arrival too. All personnel will also have to show proof of vaccination, and must adhere to all COVID-19 prevention norms, including wearing of masks and observing social distancing.

Foreign teams that will arrive in India for the marquee tournament in Bhuvenshwar have been exempted from quarantine. The teams, instead, will only be required to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms during their stay.

Defending champions India will kick off their World Cup campaign on November 24. India have been placed in Pool B alongside France, Canada and Poland.