Durham to stage international hockey tournament for the first time

Durham University has said it is "delighted" to host an international hockey tournament in August 2022.

The Euro Hockey Qualifiers tournament will be at the Maiden Castle Sports and Wellbeing Park from Thursday 25 August to Sunday 28 August 2022.

This is the first time an international hockey tournament will take place in Durham.

The tournament is one of the four qualification events for the Women’s Euro Hockey Championships being held in the summer of 2023.

As the host nation, England will take on fellow home nation Wales, as well as Croatia and Slovakia.

The team with the most points at the conclusion of all the matches will take the qualification spot and progress to the finals next year.

A number of Durham University international hockey players will take part in the tournament including current student and Olympic medal winner Fiona Crackles, along with recent graduate Tess Howard on the England Team.

Both players have recently won Gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Other Durham Hockey alumni Rebecca Daniels and Izzie Howell are playing for Wales.

Head of Sport at Durham University, Mark Brian, said: “We have a world class sporting venue here in Durham and are excited to be partnering in an event of this stature.

"It is fantastic to be welcoming back some of our students who are now playing at this level.”

The Women’s Euro Hockey Championships has been running since 1984, and England have won the tournament twice - in Brussels in 1991 and in London in 2015.

Tickets for all matches are on sale, which can be purchased online from the England Hockey website.

The matches will also be live streamed and can be viewed online.