FIH World Ranking System
1.
Background
The FIH has recognised for a number of years ago that there was a requirement for an official FIH World
Ranking System. The FIH Executive Board implemented and published the first official FIH World
Ranking System in July 2003 which has subsequently proved highly successful.
Initially it was used to establish rankings and the pool allocation for major FIH and Continental
Federation (and their qualifying) tournaments. This has ensured that there has been an open and
transparent system used to enable the pools to be determined for these events and has overcome the
past criticisms in relation to ‘fixing’ of pools where efforts appeared to have been made to avoid certain
teams playing each other in the pool stage of a tournament.
Following the successful implementation of the system, the FIH Executive Board approved its further
use to determine quotas and reserve countries for Continental Federations for Olympic Games and FIH
World Cups. This proved a further successful enhancement of the use of the FIH World Ranking System.
It has also significantly enhanced the competitive aspect of Continental Federation Championships.
The current FIH World Ranking System includes all senior national teams of all National Associations
who compete in a senior FIH or Continental Federation competition. Separate rankings are made for
men and women.
Rankings take into account all of the following tournaments over a period of four years:
(i)
Olympic Games (including qualifying events up to the London 2012 Olympic Games)
(ii)
FIH World Cup (including qualifying events up to the 2010 competitions)
(iii)
World League (since 2012)
(iii)
Champions Trophy
(iv)
Champions Challenge
(v)
Continental Federation Championships (including qualifying tournaments)
The current ranking system reflects both current and past performances. Results from the past are
progressively less weighted year by year (25% discount per year over a 4-year cycle) until they are
deleted from the calculations.
The current ranking system ensures that a success at a single tournament, even an Olympic Games or
World Cup, is not sufficient to make up for poor form in the preceding 3 - 4 years, and vice versa. It is
FIH’s view that the current ranking system truly reflects a team’s performance over a 4-year cycle and
its world-wide acceptance led to the development in 2013 of an Indoor Hockey World Ranking.
2.
Review of World Ranking System
Whilst some minor alterations were made to the system in its initial years, wholesale changes were
avoided; a principle of “no tinkering” was adopted and has been followed subsequently. Complete
reviews of the system were undertaken following the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012 by the FIH
Competitions Committee and the resulting changes were approved by the FIH Executive Board in both
cases. The next review is scheduled for 2016 following the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
In particular the reviews considered:
3.

The ranking points allocated to all FIH Events (i.e. Olympic Games, Olympic Qualifiers, World
Cups, World Cup Qualifiers, Champions Trophies and Champions Challenges)

The ranking points allocated to the Champions Trophy and Champions Challenges with a view
to making them more equitable in a 4-years cycle.

The Continental Federation weightings of ranking points taking account of results of intercontinental competitions between National Associations (the Olympic and World Cup Qualifiers)
and results within Continental Federation Championships.

Allocation of points for proposed new FIH Events, including new formats for Champions
Challenge 1 and Champions Challenge 2.
Outcomes of the Reviews
3.1
Ranking Points – FIH Events
It was agreed that the ranking points allocated for men and women in FIH events should remain
the same. This has continued through since then.
(a)
Olympic Games and World Cups
(i)
The original gap between 1st and 2nd at the Olympics and World Cups is from 1,000
points to 800 points. No change was made in 2008 but this was amended after the
2012 Olympics when the World League became the qualifying event for subsequent
Olympics and world Cups.
(ii)
In 2008, there was a upwards revision for teams finishing 13th and below
The basis upon which these change were made were to provide greater points for the
teams in the Olympic Games and World Cup qualifiers. It was considered that this was
important as it gave greater incentive and reason for teams to participate and compete
in these qualifying tournaments.
(b)
Champions Trophy
To address the ongoing comments concerning the allocation of world ranking points for
the Champions Trophy which until 2012 had been played on annual basis, the points were
adjusted in 2008 so that there was equity between points allocated to the Champions
Trophy and the Champions Challenge over a two year cycle, ie the Champions Trophy
points were obtained every year, whereas the Champions Challenge points were only
obtained every two years.
2
(c)
Champions Challenge 1 and Champions Challenge 2
The format of the Champions Challenge changed in 2009. However, the last edition of
the Champions Challenge 2 was scheduled for 2012 and for Champions Challenge 1 2014.
(d)
World League
FIH investigated a new worldwide event for a number of years before deciding on the
World League in 2011. The World League is played over four rounds over two years and
any National Association can enter. Certain teams are exempt until the third round, others
until the second. Those not given an exemption start off in Round 1.
The first edition started in August 2012.
As World League is now used by FIH as the worldwide qualifying tournament for both the
Olympic Games and World Cup, the points allocated to it, and the Olympic Games and
World Cups were reviewed in 2011. It was recognised that those teams that qualified for
an Olympic Games or a World Cup would be “double dipping” ie getting two sets of World
Ranking Points for the linked competition. Therefore, the number of points allocated for
the Olympic Games and World Cups were reduced, with the winner getting 750 points as
opposed to the previous 1,000.
The current points allocation for FIH competitions is shown at Appendix 1
3.2
Ranking Points – Continental Federations
The ranking points allocated to Continental Federations remain based upon those allocated to
Europe.
Three adjustments were made in 2008 to the points allocated, namely
•
To reduce the inequity of points obtained from tournaments which attract ranking points,
the ranking points allocated to Continental Federations were increased with the start
point increasing from 500 points to 750 points.
•
To give greater relevance to continental points as against the tournaments which attract
ranking points, the step down in ranking points was lessened.

A detailed study was made of cross continental information and Continental Federation
information with outcomes tested against a sample of matches played between nations
of different continents. As a result some changes were made. As the rankings / standards
in the respective Continental Federations vary between men and women, separate
ranking points are allocated to the respective men’s and women’s Continental Federation
competitions.
The 2012 review considered only the relative strengths of teams in the different continents and
followed the procedure outlined in the last bullet point above. Again, some changes were made
to the comparisons for each continent.
The current continental points allocation is shown at Appendix 2.
3.4
Ranking Points – Continental Federations
The FIH World Rankings are one of the most visited pages on the FIH web site. In order keep fans
interested in the movement of their team in the rankings, they are updated as frequently as
possible but only when a particular competition is completed, eg all of the continental
championships in a cycle. This is because certain multi-sports Games use the FIH World Ranking
3
to determine participants, and if one team had the benefit of an updated ranking and another
did not, this could affect which of those teams would be invited to an event.
Rankings are updated at the following points in time.

At the completion of the Olympic Games

At the completion of the World Cup

At the completion of all continental championships in a particular year / cycle.

At the completion of the Champions Trophy and Champions Challenges in the same year.

At the completion of a round of the World League
In respect of this last bullet point, all teams that qualify for the next round of World League are
allocated the least number of points relative to that round, eg after the World League SemiFinals all teams qualified for the World League Final are allocated the points for finishing 8th
whilst those teams not qualifying are allocated points for finishing between 9th and 20th.
4.
Summary
The World Ranking System has served the FIH extremely well since its introduction. The detailed
reviews have illustrated that the integrity of the system is excellent, particularly in the top ranked 20
nations in the world. The advent of the Olympic and World Cup Qualifiers and then World League,
where significantly more intercontinental matches were played, has made it possible to make objective
conclusions concerning the relative strengths between countries from the various Continental
Federations. The reviews undertaken in 2008 and 2012 have clearly demonstrated that only minor
changes were necessary.
The current system is open and transparent. Everyone knows what points they can and cannot earn
depending upon the level of participation. Further, it was absolutely vital in the administration of the
Olympic Games and World Cup Qualifiers (before the advent of the World League) for the allocation
to Continental Federations for both direct qualification quotas and the qualifying tournaments’ quotas.
5.
The Future
The Champions Trophy will revert to a 6 team competition in 2016 and a revision to the ranking points
allocated to each place will be made
The next review of the working of the current FIH World Ranking System is scheduled in 2016 with a
view to implement any proposed changes at the conclusion of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. However,
the FIH is constantly looking at ways to make the sport even more interesting to fans and one of these
is to investigate other possible formats for the system that would enable the rankings to be updated
more frequently than currently happens. Watch this space!
November 2014
4
Appendix 1
Ranking
OG
WC
World
League
CTT
CCh 1
CCh 2
1
750
750
400
200
130
85
2
650
650
350
180
120
80
3
550
550
325
170
110
75
4
450
450
300
160
100
70
5
400
400
280
150
95
65
6
350
350
260
140
90
60
7
300
300
240
130
85
55
8
250
250
220
120
80
50
9
225
225
200
10
200
200
190
11
180
180
180
12
160
160
170
13
160
14
150
15
140
16
130
17
120
18
115
19
110
20
105
21
100
22
95
23
90
24
85
25
80
26
75
27
70
28
65
29
60
30
56
31
52
32
48
33
45
34
42
35
39
36
36
37
34
5
Appendix 2
Continental Federation Championships (MEN)
Ranking
Total Pts
Allocated
African HF
Net
% Pts
Pts
Asian HF
Net
% Pts
Pts
European HF
%
Net
Pts
Pts
Oceania HF
%
Net
Pts
Pts
Pan American
HF
Net
% Pts
Pts
1
750
70.0%
525.0
100%
750.0
100%
750.0
100%
750.0
78.5%
588.8
2
700
57.5%
402.5
100%
700.0
100%
700.0
100%
700.0
78.5%
549.5
3
650
28.0%
182.0
100%
650.0
100%
650.0
5.5%
35.8
41.0%
266.5
4
600
23.0%
138.0
90.0%
540.0
100%
600.0
5.5%
33.0
41.0%
246.0
5
550
17.0%
93.5
90.0%
495.0
100%
550.0
5.5%
30.3
41.0%
225.5
6
500
12.0%
60.0
90.0%
450.0
100%
500.0
5.5%
27.5
41.0%
205.0
7
450
8.0%
36.0
40.5%
182.3
100%
450.0
5.5%
24.8
37.0%
166.5
8
400
8.0%
32.0
40.5%
162.0
100%
400.0
5.5%
22.0
37.0%
148.0
9
375
8.0%
30.0
40.5%
151.9
100%
375.0
37.0%
138.8
10
350
8.0%
28.0
40.5%
141.8
100%
350.0
37.0%
129.5
11
325
8.0%
26.0
35.0%
113.8
100%
325.0
22.3%
72.3
12
300
8.0%
24.0
30.0%
90.0
100%
300.0
22.3%
66.8
13
275
30.0%
82.5
100%
275.0
22.3%
61.2
14
250
22.5%
56.3
100%
250.0
22.3%
55.6
15
225
22.5%
50.6
100%
225.0
22.3%
50.1
16
200
22.5%
45.0
100%
200.0
11.0%
22.0
17
185
22.5%
41.6
100%
185.0
11.0%
20.4
18
170
22.5%
38.3
100%
170.0
11.0%
18.7
19
155
22.5%
34.9
100%
155.0
9.0%
14.0
20
140
22.5%
31.5
100%
140.0
9.0%
12.6
21
125
100%
125.0
22
110
100%
110.0
23
95
100%
95.0
24
80
100%
80.0
25
75
100%
75.0
26
70
100%
70.0
27
65
100%
65.0
28
60
100%
60.0
29
55
100%
55.0
30
50
100%
50.0
31
45
100%
45.0
32
40
100%
40.0
33
35
100%
35.0
34
30
100%
30.0
35
25
100%
25.0
36
20
100%
20.0
6
Continental Federation Championships (WOMEN)
Ranking
Total Pts
Allocated
African HF
Net
% Pts
Pts
Asian HF
Net
% Pts
Pts
European HF
%
Net
Pts
Pts
Oceania HF
%
Net
Pts
Pts
Pan American
HF
Net
% Pts
Pts
1
750
75.0%
562.5
100%
750.0
100%
750.0
100%
750.0
100%
750.0
2
700
30.0%
210.0
100%
700.0
100%
700.0
100%
700.0
100%
700.0
3
650
18.0%
117.0
100%
650.0
100%
650.0
5.5%
35.8
60.0%
390.0
4
600
18.0%
108.0
100%
600.0
100%
600.0
5.5%
33.0
50.0%
300.0
5
550
14.0%
77.0
60.0%
330.0
100%
550.0
5.5%
30.3
50.0%
275.0
6
500
14.0%
70.0
37.5%
187.5
100%
500.0
5.5%
27.5
36.0%
180.0
7
450
6.0%
27.0
37.5%
168.8
100%
450.0
5.5%
24.8
36.0%
162.0
8
400
6.0%
24.0
37.5%
150.0
100%
400.0
5.5%
22.0
36.0%
144.0
9
375
6.0%
22.5
24.0%
90.0
100%
375.0
36.0%
135.0
10
350
6.0%
21.0
24.0%
84.0
100%
350.0
25.0%
87.5
11
325
6.0%
19.5
24.0%
78.0
100%
325.0
25.0%
81.3
12
300
6.0%
18.0
24.0%
72.0
100%
300.0
25.0%
75.0
13
275
24.0%
66.0
100%
275.0
25.0%
68.8
14
250
24.0%
60.0
100%
250.0
25.0%
62.5
15
225
24.0%
54.0
100%
225.0
25.0%
56.3
16
200
24.0%
48.0
100%
200.0
10.0%
20.0
17
185
24.0%
44.4
100%
185.0
10.0%
18.5
18
170
24.0%
40.8
100%
170.0
10.0%
17.0
19
155
24.0%
37.2
100%
155.0
10.0%
15.5
20
140
24.0%
33.6
100%
140.0
10.0%
14.0
21
125
100%
125.0
22
110
100%
110.0
23
95
100%
95.0
24
80
100%
80.0
25
75
100%
75.0
26
70
100%
70.0
27
65
100%
65.0
28
60
100%
60.0
29
55
100%
55.0
30
50
100%
50.0
31
45
100%
45.0
32
40
100%
40.0
33
35
100%
35.0
34
30
100%
30.0
35
25
100%
25.0
36
20
100%
20.0
7