Jamaica hunt International Hockey success in their backyard

Jamaica will play host to the Hockey World League (HWL) round one between September 30 and October 5 2014. The matches will be played at newly laid multimillion dollar artificial turf at the Mona Hockey Field in St Andrew.

Men’s and Women’s teams from Barbados, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico and host Jamaica will provide over 200 athletes matching sticks for sticks, stride for stride over next six days to gain FIH points and valuable experience.

Team Venezuela withdrew from the tournament late this afternoon will force organizers to make adjustments to the schedule.

The HWL gives newcomers from the lower rankings the chance to go head-to-head with giants from the top.

The Jamaicans will play their first match on September 30, 2014. The women will take to field at 2 p.m. Later the men will play at 7:00 p.m up against the higher ranked team Barbados.

Two local officials along with a number of other international officiators will take charge of the games.

The Hockey World League is split into four rounds that will last over a two-year phase.

The first phase provides chances for World Cup qualification and in the next stage, teams will vie for spots at the Olympics. Two teams will advance to round two of the FIH qualification league.