Noida: The 2026 edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) will begin from January 5, the national federation’s secretary general Bhola Nath Singh said here on Tuesday.
The HIL, which was revived after a gap of seven years, was last held from December 28 to February 1 this year.
“The HIL window is fixed and the men’s HIL will continue to be an eight-team competition but the women’s HIL will be of six teams from four from next year. The venues are yet not decided but we are in consultation with all stakeholders and soon we will have an update,” Singh said after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between HI and Amity University Online Education.
“Looking into the sentiments of foreign players and their Christmas celebrations, we have decided the next HIL will be from January 5,” he added.
Singh also refuted reports that some national and foreign players haven’t got their dues from franchises for their services in the last HIL.
“We will follow the guidelines of HIL, if a franchise wants to keep the same setup, they are free to do that. There is also a guideline that a franchise can keep their top 12 players and release rest for auction, then they will go into auction list.
“All dues of players are cleared, it’s a false news,” he said.
As per the MoU singed on Tuesday, hockey players of the country will get academic scholarships from Amity University to pursue any professional or undergraduate course.
“The hockey players who want to study and build a career beyond the game can now do that because it’s an online course. They can do the course from anywhere, while during national camp, or from abroad. It’s a facility that Amity University has provided them,” Singh said.
Amity University Online chairman Ajit Chauhan elaborated on the MoU.
“Hockey is pride of India and we wanted first to sign with hockey to transform lives of players through quality online education. We are also talking to Wrestling Federation of India, Archery Association of India and Athletics Federation of India, but we wanted to start with hockey,” he said.
“For international players 100 per cent scholarships, for state and reginal players, there is 50 per cent, and for upcoming players 30 per cent.”
