| Most recent season or competition: 2024–25 Hockey India League | |
 | |
| Founded | 2013; 12 years ago (2013) |
|---|---|
| First season | 2013 |
| Administrator | Hockey India |
| No. of teams | M: 8 W: 4 |
| Country |  India |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
| Most recent champions | W:Odisha Warriors M:Rarh Bengal Tigers (2024–25) |
| Tournament format | |
| Official website | Website |
 2024–25 Hockey India League | |
Hockey India League is a professionalfield hockey league inIndia. It is organized byHockey India, the governing body for the sport in India.[1] It is considered one of the major sports leagues of the country.[2]
It was founded in 2013 as a part ofHockey India's attempt to develop anInternational Hockey Federation sanctioned league after the un-sanctionedWorld Series Hockey, began in 2012.[3] Thefirst season took place in 2013.[4] It proved to be a financial success for Hockey India, who were in financial disarray before the league began. In 2015, it was reported that the federation earned a profit from multiple revenues.[5]
The most recent champions of the league areOdisha Warriors in the women's edition andRarh Bengal Tigers in the men's edition.
The first event in the league format in India was a hockey league named thePremier Hockey League organised byESPN-Star Sports,Indian Hockey Federation and Leisure Sports Management from 2005 to 2008.[6] It was based on the model ofNBA league. It was a pioneer in Indian sports which inspired theIndian Premier League and many others that followed.
Later in 2012, the Indian Hockey Federation andNimbus beganWorld Series Hockey, a professional field hockey league in India.[7] After the success of the league, Hockey India announced the formation of their own franchise-based league, launched in mid-2012, known as the Hockey India League. The league was approved by the International Hockey Federation. The league was originally planned to have six teams, which would be established after the bidding was done for the twelve proposed cities that would host an HIL team.[8] However, due to lack of interest in a sixth city, the league commenced in 2013 with five teams.[9] Before the beginning of the season,ESPN STAR Sports was announced as the league's official broadcasting partner on a five-year deal.[10]
The first match was played on 14 January 2013, as Delhi Waveriders defeated the Punjab Warriors 2–1 at theDhyan Chand National Stadium.[11] The league had gained some buzz from the marquee signings of India internationalsSardara Singh andSandeep Singh, as well as the signings of foreign players such asJamie Dwyer,Moritz Fürste, andTeun de Nooijer.[12] The inaugural season ended with Ranchi Rhinos being the first champions, defeating the Delhi Waveriders 2–1 in the final.[13] The league was considered a success immediately in the years following the inaugural season.[14]
Before the beginning of the second season,Kalinga Lancers were announced as the sixth team in the Hockey India League.[15] However, after the2014 season, the league suffered its first setback when the Mumbai Magicians disbanded.[16] The team was swiftly replaced though withDabang Mumbai being launched before the2015 season.[17] The league though suffered another setback before the 2015 season when Ranchi Rhinos, the inaugural champions, were disbanded after an ownership problem. The team though, like with Mumbai, was quickly replaced with Ranchi Rays.[18][19]
Seven years later, Hockey India League was revived with its2024–25 edition.[20][21]
Previously, HIL used to consist of six teams, with the regular season from January to February, each team playing 10 games.[22] The top four teams at the end of the season move into the play-offs, where the game decides the Hockey India League winner.[23]
Since 2024, the teams have been expanded to eight. Meanwhile, the league's addition of the women's tournament will see six teams in its inaugural edition.
If there is a tie in any match then there would be extra time. Still, if winner is not decided, there would be a shoot-out. If still the winner is not decided there would be no option left other than penalty strokes.
| Team | City | Debut | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi SG Pipers | New Delhi,Delhi | 2024 |  Graham Reid |
| Hyderabad Toofans | Hyderabad,Telangana | 2024 |  Pasha Gademan |
| Kalinga Lancers | Bhubaneswar,Odisha | 2014 |  Valentin Altenburg |
| Ranchi Royals | Ranchi,Jharkhand | 2026 | |
| Rarh Bengal Tigers | Kolkata,West Bengal | 2024 | Colin Batch |
| Soorma Hockey Club | Punjab | 2024 |  Jeroen Baart |
| Tamil Nadu Dragons | Chennai,Tamil Nadu | 2024 | Rein van Eijk |
| UP Rudras | Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh | 2024 | Paul van Ass |
| Team | City | Debut | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi SG Pipers | New Delhi,Delhi | 2025 | Dave Smolenaars |
| Ranchi Royals | Ranchi,Jharkhand | 2026 | |
| Rarh Bengal Tigers | Kolkata,West Bengal | 2025 | Glenn Turner |
| Soorma Hockey Club | Haryana | 2025 | Jude Menezes |
| Team | City | Years Active |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai Magicians | Mumbai,Maharashtra | 2013–2014 |
| Ranchi Rhinos | Ranchi,Jharkhand | 2013–2014 |
| Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh | 2013–2017 |
| Delhi Waveriders | New Delhi,Delhi | 2013–2017 |
| Punjab Warriors | Chandigarh,Punjab | 2013–2017 |
| Dabang Mumbai | Mumbai,Maharashtra | 2015–2017 |
| Ranchi Rays | Ranchi,Jharkhand | 2015–2017 |
| Team Gonasika | Visakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh | 2024–2025 |
| Odisha Warriors | Rourkela,Odisha | 2025 |
| Season | Player | Amount | Team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Harmanpreet Singh | ₹78 lakhs | Soorma Hockey Club | [24] |
| Abhishek Nain | ₹72 lakhs | Rarh Bengal Tigers | ||
| Hardik Singh | ₹70 lakhs | UP Rudras | ||
| Gonzalo Peillat | ₹68 lakhs | Hyderabad Toofans | [25] | |
| Jip Janssen | ₹54 lakhs | Tamil Nadu Dragons |
| Season | Player | Amount | Team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Udita Duhan | ₹32 lakhs | Rarh Bengal Tigers | [26] |
| Yibbi Jansen | ₹29 lakhs | Odisha Warriors | ||
| Lalremsiami | ₹25 lakhs | Rarh Bengal Tigers | ||
| Sunelita Toppo | ₹24 lakhs | Delhi SG Pipers | ||
| Sangita Kumari | ₹22 lakhs | Delhi SG Pipers |
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner up | Venue | Teams | Player of the Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Odisha Warriors | 2–1 | Soorma Hockey Club | Jaipal Singh Stadium | 4 | Jyoti Rumavat fromSoorma Hockey Club |
| 2025–26 | TBA | Jaipal Singh Stadium | 4 |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2024–25 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi SG Pipers | 8th | ||||||
| Hyderabad Toofans | RU | ||||||
| Kalinga Lancers | 6th | 5th | RU | C | 6th | ||
| Ranchi Royals | |||||||
| Rarh Bengal Tigers | C | ||||||
| Soorma Hockey Club | 3rd | ||||||
| Tamil Nadu Dragons | 4th | ||||||
| UP Rudras | 5th | ||||||
| Defunct Teams | |||||||
| Ranchi Rhinos | C | 3rd | |||||
| Mumbai Magicians | 5th | 5th | |||||
| Uttar Pradesh Wizards | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 6th | 3rd | ||
| Delhi Waveriders | RU | C | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | ||
| Punjab Warriors | 4th | RU | RU | C | 6th | ||
| Dabang Mumbai | 6th | 5th | RU | ||||
| Ranchi Rays | C | 4th | 5th | ||||
| Team Gonasika | 7th | ||||||
| Team | 2025 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi SG Pipers | 4th | |
| Hyderabad Toofans | ||
| Ranchi Royals | ||
| Rarh Bengal Tigers | 3rd | |
| Soorma Hockey Club | RU | |
| Defunct Teams | ||
| Odisha Warriors | C | |
| Season | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | DWR | RRH | UPW | PW | MM | |||
| 2014 | PW | DWR | UPW | RRH | MM | KL | ||
| 2015 | PW | RRA | UPW | DWR | KL | DM | ||
| 2016 | RRA | PW | DWR | KL | DM | UPW | ||
| 2017 | DM | KL | UPW | DWR | RRA | PW | ||
| 2024–25 | RBT | SHC | HT | TND | UPR | KL | TG | DSGP |
| 2026 |
| Season | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | SHC | OW | RBT | DSGP | ||
| 2025–26 |
| Champions | |
| Runners Up | |
| Third Place | |
| Playoffs |
| Period | Sponsor | Tournament Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–2015 | Hero | Hero Hockey India League |
| 2016–2017 | Coal India | Coal India Hockey India League |
| 2024–present | Hero | Hero Hockey India League |
Source:The Hindu
Before the league's first season,Hockey India appointed Steve Catton as competitions director.[27]Minister of State for Parliamentary AffairsRajeev Shukla, leader of the opposition inRajya Sabha,Arun Jaitley, and media personalityRajat Sharma are the members of the board for the Hockey India League.[28] Along with Steve Catton, Barry Anderson was appointed as the tournament director.[29]
Hockey India appointed Todd Faulds as its competitions director for the second edition of the Hockey India League.[30][31] He previously worked as a competitions manager for the FIH2012 Men's Champions Trophy inMelbourne and 2012 International Super Series inPerth.
Bjorn Isberg has been the Hockey India League tournament director since 2014. Isberg had served as tournament director for the2012 London Olympics field hockey tournament, and threeChampions Trophy tournaments (in2004,2007, and2011).[32]
