India unlikely to host 1st Champions Challenge

India is unlikely to host the inaugural Champions Challenge tournament in December following security fears being expressed by participating national associations due to the current international political situation.

The tournament is scheduled to be held in New Delhi, from December 7 to 15. But the International Hockey Federation web site reported on Wednesday that after consultations with Indian Hockey Federation president K P S Gill, it was decided that holding the first Champions Challenge, men and women, in Delhi in December this year might be difficult.

"Based on the information received from the national associations qualified for this event it was clear that only a few international associations would have travelled to India due to the political turmoil over Afghanistan," the web site said.

"The FIH will further investigate the possibilities to have both tournaments held, preferably on the same dates, in another country. The possibility of holding the tournament in two different countries (for men and for women) was also be explored," it added.

The teams qualifying for the Champions Challenge will be the host and the five best ranked World Cup or Olympic teams not already qualified for the Champions Trophy. To start, the Champions Challenge will take place every two years with the winner being promoted to the Champions Trophy. The winner will replace the last placed team from the last champions trophy in the next year. Earlier the the last team use to be replaced by the next highest ranked World Cup or Olympic team.

According to the FIH, the Champions Challenge, was conceptulised in 1998, when the revamped programme of FIH world level events. The new format should see more teams participating in World level FIH events with the creation of a new tournament - the Champions Challenge - as a feeder to the Champions Trophy, the women's Champions Trophy played every year (instead of every two years).

The creation of the new format was initially aimed at achieving specific objectives given to the task force: increasing opportunities for lesser-developed hockey playing countries to compete on the world level; establishing a sensible, balanced and marketable cycle of World level major tournaments and encouraging a wider variety of host countries for FIH events by reducing costs and improving the bidding system.