August 2024 will see more international hockey come to Scotland as Scottish Hockey hosts Women’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A. As Scottish Hockey moves towards the Build phase of its Reset, Build, Excel vision, hosting the tournament is a great opportunity to build on a successful history of hosting international tournaments over the last eight years.
The winner of the knockout tournament will compete at the EuroHockey Championships in 2025. The match schedule and competing teams will be announced soon, with Scotland competing as top seeds in the tournament.
Scottish Hockey bid to host both the women’s and men’s qualifiers, and was awarded the women’s qualifier, offering a great opportunity for fans to cheer on the team on home soil.
The last time Scottish Hockey hosted a women’s international tournament was in 2019, when Scotland won gold at Women’s EuroHockey Championship II in Glasgow. The success at the event also saw them promoted to the EuroHockey Championships, where they have competed at each championship since.
The Scots recently took to the pitch at the top table of European hockey in Germany, where they came up against the hosts, Germany, as well as England and Ireland in their pool, before facing Italy and Spain.
Now Scotland women will build towards this huge qualifier event in front of a passionate home crowd.
Scottish Hockey CEO, Barry Cawte, said, “It’s fantastic for hockey in Scotland to host the Women’s EuroHockey Qualifier event. We pride ourselves on hosting great tournaments and we can’t wait to host another great international competition in Scotland.
“It’s a huge year for our senior international teams and to have the women’s team play at home is such a good opportunity to get a passionate home crowd cheering them on. It’s a tournament to put in your diary and one the players, staff, and hockey fans across Scotland are looking forward to.”
Scotland Women Head Coach, Chris Duncan, said, “It is absolutely fantastic news to have been announced as the host of EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A. For our players, pulling on the Scotland jersey is an amazing moment, but there is an added feeling of pride doing that in front of a home crowd in a home tournament.
“The last time we competed in tournament hockey in Scotland was in the victorious 2019 EuroHockey Championships II, where the crowd roared the players on, and the atmosphere incredible. This is something all of the team and staff can look forward to, and gives a brilliant opportunity to continue to showcase our development as a nation and inspire the next generation of Scottish Hockey players.”