Hockey in Netherlands
NED
FIH Rankings
The Netherlands: the epicentre of global hockey
— CULTDutch hockey is unique in the world thanks to the strength of the Tulp Hoofdklasse, the weekly engine driving national success. Unlike many competitors that depend on centralised programmes, Dutch players are challenged at the very highest level every Sunday in a club competition widely regarded as the best on the planet. A top player trains four to five times a week at her club, supplemented by centralised training days with the national team.
The foundation of this dominance is the principle of coopetition: players are loyal teammates with the national team, but bitter rivals at their clubs. SCHC put together an unbeaten run of thirty-two league matches across 2025 and 2026. The intense Euro Hockey League final between Den Bosch and SCHC in April 2026 illustrates the level. The KNHB steers this system tightly through close coordination between club coaches and the national head coach on physical load and rest.
The synergy between club and federation is so effective that the Netherlands has built up enormous export value in coaching. Alyson Annan leads China, Janneke Schopman has been Germany's head coach since 2024, Raoul Ehren himself made the move from Belgium to the Netherlands, and Sjoerd Marijne returned in January 2026 as India's head coach. Five of the sixteen World Cup participants have a Dutch signature in their coaching staff. This export power is the direct result of decades of KNHB investment in professionalisation, often well before the same happened on the men's side.
More about Netherlands
— LAYERSNational women's team
ranked 1 FIHNine stars already sit on the shirt, more than any team in any global team sport. In August the Netherlands chase the tenth at home, as reigning Olympic, European, Pro League and world champions all at once. For four years in a row the FIH trophy for the best player in the world went to a Dutch player: Felice Albers, Xan de Waard, Yibbi Jansen and De Waard again. No other country comes close.
And that is exactly why this is a risky tournament. With the Pro League title, the Olympic ticket for 2028 also arrived in late June, so there is nothing left to win but that tenth star. Top goalkeeper Josine Koning is uncertain with a knee injury, and for Xan de Waard this World Cup is her farewell. In the dossier you can read how head coach Raoul Ehren builds his team, where the vulnerability lies, who the rivals that matter are and what that tenth star means exactly. Read on for the full portrait.
National men's team
ranked 2 FIH
Clubs
Coming soon
Certified fields
3 certifiedCategory 3
2 certifiedFields for lower-level national, regional and club play.
- GHBS veld 4, GroningenLano SportsS-tec Orbion II ET25Valid until: Oct 22, 2028
- Victoria Field 5, RotterdamEdel GrassEdel TeX 20-17 EL25Valid until: Feb 3, 2028
Dry Turf field
1 certifiedFields with enhanced playing qualities without water, used for national and local competitions.
- HC Eindhoven, EindhovenPolytanPoligras Paris GT Zero 11-43 MB PFS 13Valid until: Mar 25, 2028
Coaches
Coming soon
Referees
Coming soon
Netherlands hockey teams at the FIH WC 2026
— WK26Historical highlights
— HIST1898
Federation founded
The Nederlandsche Hockey & Bandy Bond is founded in Amsterdam; from 1973 the federation carries the name KNHB.
1973
World Cup gold men's - Amstelveen
The Netherlands wins the very first men's hockey World Cup.
1984
First Olympic gold women's - Los Angeles
First Olympic appearance and immediately gold for the Oranje women.
1996
Olympic gold men's - Atlanta
First Olympic title for the men since 1928.
1998
World Cup gold men's - Utrecht
World title during the 100th anniversary of the KNHB.
2000
Olympic gold men's - Sydney
Second consecutive Olympic title for the men.
2006
World Cup gold women's - Madrid
Sixth world title; a return to dominance after a dip in the 1990s.
2008
Olympic gold women's - Beijing
First Olympic title for the women since 1984.
2012
Olympic gold women's - London
Captain Maartje Paumen leads Oranje to a successful title defence.
2014
World Cup gold women's - The Hague
World title on home soil.
2018
World Cup gold women's - London
Eighth world title, 6-0 against Ireland in the final.
2021
Olympic gold women's - Tokyo (postponed from 2020)
2022
World Cup gold women's - Terrassa/Amstelveen
Ninth world title; final in Terrassa, group stage in Amstelveen.
2024
Double Olympic gold - Paris
Both the men and the women win Olympic gold, a first: never before had one country won both hockey titles at the same Games. For the men it was the first gold since Sydney 2000.