The second edition of the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Pro League has been extended 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Season two of the annual global league, featuring the men's and women's New Zealand teams, was initially set to run from January to June this year.
Sam Lane of the Black Sticks battles with Jose Tolini of Argentina for possession during a game in March Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2019 www.photosport.nz
About one third of the planned matches were completed between January and early March, before the escalating Covid-19 crisis brought the competition, like almost all major sporting events around the world, to a standstill.
Throughout this time of postponement, the FIH has been liaising with all participating national associations in order to assess this ever-changing situation, the aim being to restart the playing of matches only when it is safe to do so, putting athlete welfare at the forefront of the decision-making process.
Taking into account both the latest recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the recent announcement regarding the one year postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, it was universally agreed that extending season two into the middle of 2021 was the appropriate course of action.
The FIH will continue to closely monitor the global evolution of the Covid-19 situation and, with the safety of athletes and fans being top priority, any potential dates regarding the resumption of the competition will be announced at the appropriate time.
As part of the continuing evolution of the competition and in agreement with all participating national associations, FIH has also announced that the window for season three of the Hockey Pro League will be from September 2021 to June 2022.
The decision to spread the Pro League season over a longer time period will allow for greater flexibility in terms of the scheduling, reduce match congestion in the first half whilst also helping to ensure that international hockey remains highly visible via broadcast.
The New Zealand women's hockey team is sitting third out of nine nations in this season's Pro League, while the men's Black Sticks are in sixth place in their competition.