Mumbai: The inaugural edition of the World Series Hockey organised by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) will have 176 internationals from India and other countries.
The tournament, which will have eight city-based teams, will be held from December 15 to January 22. The players will be allocated to the teams based on the internationally accepted and practiced 'Draft' system.
"The inaugural edition of the league comprises eight teams and players have signed contracts for the next three years," said Yannick Colaco, chief operating officer of Nimbus Sport, the promoter of the tournament.
"All India internationals have signed on the dotted line. We're also extremely pleased to confirm the participation of international hockey stars from Australia, Argentina, Spain, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Korea," he said.
The eight captains are Sardara Singh, Adrian D'Souza, Arjun Halappa and Prabhjot Singh of India, Australia's Brent Livermore, Pakistan's Rehan Butt, former Spanish captain Rodrigo Garza and Argentinian Lucas Vila.
IHF president RK Shetty said the series will boost the national sport.
"It will certainly do wonders for our national sport. The tussle for supremacy will present intense clashes and draw fans back to the stadiums," he said.
Harish Thawani, Executive Chairman of Nimbus Communications, said: "For the first time in hockey, these players will be financially rewarded and will have a global platform to exhibit their skills. The legacy created by the upgrade of hockey infrastructure across the country will benefit the sport of Hockey for generations to come."
The participating cities are Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The slots for the two remaining cities will be finalised from among Bhopal, Pune, Rourkela, Ranchi, Manipur, Lucknow and Kolkata.
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