Which stadiums will host Hockey Men's World Cup 2023?

The tournament will begin on January 13.

The FIH hockey men’s World Cup is set to begin on 13th January 2023. It will be the second consecutive time India will be hosting the grand event. Bhubaneshwar was the only city in Odisha in 2018 to host the event but this time Rourkela will jointly be organizing the matches. The two stadiums are the Kalinga International stadium and the newly constructed Birsa Munda International stadium. The latter named after a famous freedom fighter and exclusively built to conduct matches during the World Cup.

The upcoming FIH men’s World Cup will be played across four newly-laid pitches two each at the Kalinga and Birsa Munda stadiums. Out of the 44 matches to be played, 24 matches including the finals will be played in Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. Whereas the rest 20 will be played in the Birsa Munda stadium.

Newly constructed stadium

The seating capacity of the newly constructed stadium is larger than the iconic Kalinga stadium. Kalinga stadium at present can occupy 15,000 spectators whereas the other stadium can occupy 20,000 spectators.

Argentina and South Africa will be clashing in the tournament opener with Kalinga stadium hosting the match. New Zealand and Chile’s match on the 14th will be the opening match and also the first international match to be played in the Birsa Munda stadium. India will be playing the first two matches at Rourkela and will return back to Bhubaneshwar for the final league game.

Kalinga stadium for the past few years has been the home to Indian hockey with the majority of the home matches being played here. The stadium recently hosted the FIH Pro League matches consisting of India, Spain, and New Zealand. On the other hand, the South Korean junior team played a few matches at the Birsa Munda stadium and India too started their initial training at the newly laid pitches.