Field hockey pushes 5-a-side format with goal of joining Olympics

As Olympic sports target new and more dynamic youth-focused formats, field hockey is making its move toward a first World Cup for a five-a-side version and one day joining the Summer Games.

The Hockey5s event this weekend in the International Olympic Committee's home city of Lausanne, Switzerland, will launch senior tournaments for men and women in the shorter format.

Hockey5s is already played at Youth Olympics but has been resisted by some nations who dominate the traditional 11-a-side format and have feared being replaced by the IOC, or even dropped entirely.

"That was the biggest threat to them," said International Hockey Federation (FIH) chief executive Thierry Weil, who sees a future of adding, not taking away, from the Olympic program.

Basketball is a model for the Olympic path field hockey wants to take. At the Tokyo Olympics last year, the 3-on-3 street version of basketball debuted as the IOC pushed to promote urban events.

While the United States swept the gold medals in traditional men's and women's basketball, its men did not qualify for the 3-on-3 tournament that was won by Latvia. Mongolia took part in the women's 3-on-3 event that the U.S. did win.

In field hockey, the 12-nation Olympic men's and women's tournaments typically involve the same pool of established teams, Weil noted.

He cited Austria and Chile among the FIH's 141 members that could thrive in Hockey5s. It's designed to be easier and cheaper to develop than the 11-a-side game, which must be played on high-quality turf and grass fields.

"It's a really good sport," Weil said of 11-a-side hockey, "it's an athletic sport with good rules but it's an elite sport. The investment you need makes it impossible to do [for many nations]."

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