Muscat, Jan 29 (IANS): The Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Association (FIH) has decided that the number of participating teams at the 2025 FIH Hockey Junior World Cups will be increased from 16 to 24.

This expansion will provide global competition opportunities for more young athletes from eight more countries around the world, in a tournament format that will see every team playing six matches, the FIH informed in a release on Monday.

The EB meeting was held on the occasion of the first-ever FIH Hockey5s World Cup on Sunday in Muscat, Oman, under the chairmanship of FIH President Tayyab Ikram.

In his opening words, the FIH President reiterated how successful and insightful Sunday’s National Associations Summit had been and confirmed that similar interactions will take place in the future.

Furthermore, the Hockey Association of Kyrgyzstan was approved as a provisional member of FIH; its application for full membership will be submitted to the next FIH Congress, meeting in November this year.

The EB heard a report about FIH’s sustainability strategy. In 2024, the focus will be on engaging with Continental Federations and National Associations to roll out sustainability initiatives and strategies around the world.

The EB members received also detailed updates about FIH’s development activities – especially in terms of education-, the Olympic Solidarity programme, sports matters, the preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic hockey tournaments, the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League Season 5 – resuming on February 3 in India – and the upcoming FIH Hockey Nations Cup.