Hockey at the Olympics: Dates, events, schedule, history and Team GB prospects

bet365 News Team Updated: 18 Jul 24 10:57

Everything you need to know about Hockey at the Olympics in Paris.

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Olympic Hockey Dates

When does Olympic Hockey take place in 2024?

Both the men's and women's competitions will get underway in Paris on Saturday 27th July, with the men's event reaching a conclusion with the gold medal match on Thursday 8th August, while the women's final will be contested the following day on Friday 9th August.

Olympic Hockey Events

There will be two hockey events taking place at the 2024 Olympics, one for the men and another for the women.

The two winning teams will receive gold medals, the runners-up silvers and the victors of the third/fourth place play-off will take home Olympic bronze.

Which teams will feature in the Men's 2024 Olympic Hockey competition?

A total of 12 teams will compete in the men's competition at the 2024 Olympics.

Argentina
Australia
Belgium
France
Germany
Great Britain
India
Ireland
Netherlands
New Zealand
South Africa
Spain

Which teams will feature in the Women's 2024 Olympic Hockey competition?

A total of 12 teams will compete in the women's competition at the 2024 Olympics.

Argentina
Australia
Belgium
China
France
Germany
Great Britain
Japan
Netherlands
South Africa
Spain
United States

Olympic Hockey Men's Groups

Group A

1. Netherlands
2. Germany
3. Great Britain
4. Spain
5. France
6. South Africa

Group B

1. Belgium
2. India
3. Australia
4. Argentina
5. New Zealand
6. Ireland

Olympic Hockey Women's Groups

Group A

1. Netherlands
2. Belgium
3. Germany
4. Japan
5. China
6. France

Group B

1. Australia
2. Argentina
3. Great Britain
4. Spain
5. United States
6. South Africa

Olympic Hockey Venue

All matches in both the men's and women's hockey competitions will be staged at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, one of France's most historic sporting venues.

Built in 1907 in Colombes, a suburb of northwestern Paris, the Stade Yves-du-Manoir was the primary stadium used for the 1924 Olympics, staging the likes of athletics, gymnastics, tennis and some football and rugby matches.

It also staged the final of the 1938 World Cup between Italy and Hungary and regularly hosted international fixtures for France in both football and rugby union until the 1970s.

At one stage the stadium had a capacity of 60,000, but that has been reduced over the years and a maximum of 15,00 spectators will be able to attend hockey matches at this summer's Olympics.

Olympic Hockey Tournament Format

The format for both the men's and women's hockey tournaments are the same, with the 12 qualified teams being split into two groups of six.

Each nation plays against the other teams in their group once and the top-four sides from each section then advance through to the quarter-finals.

From there, it is a straight knockout competition, with the four quarter-final winners going through to the semi-finals.

The semi-final victors will then contest the gold medal match, while the two teams that are beaten in the last four will fight it out for bronze in the third-place play-off.

When was Hockey introduced at the Olympics?

Hockey was first introduced as an Olympic sport at the 1908 Games in London but only a men's tournament was held, with host's Great Britain landing the first gold medal.

The men's competition has been part of the Olympic programme ever since apart from at the 1912 and 1924 Games in Stockholm and Paris respectively.

The women's tournament was not introduced to the Olympics until 1980 when Zimbabwe claimed gold, but it has been a mainstay ever since.

India are the most successful team in the men's tournament, with eight of their 12 medals being gold, while in the women's competition the Netherlands have landed nine medals, four of which have been the top prize.

Team GB's men's hockey record at the Olympics and prospects for 2024

Team GB men's side have a long and illustrious history in hockey at the Olympics, as they won the first two stagings of the event in 1908 on home soil and in 1920 in Antwerp.

However, they have only picked up one further gold medal in the century since that second success, beating West Germany 3-1 in the final of the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Great Britain have also won two silver medals and taken bronze on four occasions, but their triumph in Seoul remains the most recent time they have been on the podium.

Paul Revington's team will head to the 2024 Games aiming to improve on their efforts from Tokyo when they fell at the quarter-final stage to India.

Team GB are 12/1 to go on and claim the gold medal, while it is 13/2 that they finish top of their group.

Team GB's women's hockey record at the Olympics and prospects for 2024

Team GB's women's side have claimed Olympic gold once before, famously triumphing at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro after beating the Netherlands in a dramatic penalty shootout.

They have also landed three bronze medals in 1992, 2012 and most recently at the Tokyo Games that were held in 2021.

Head coach David Ralph will hope to deliver another medal for Team GB in Paris and they are priced at 25/1 to repeat their heroics of 2016, while they are 13/2 to finish top of Group B.