Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

Exact origins of the sport are a bit blurry, but hockey is an ancient sport with evidence of existence going back more than 4,000 years. Versions of stick and ball games have been played in early Persian, Roman, Ethiopian and Aztec civilizations. It eventually appeared across Europe in the Middle Ages in several different forms and under several different names before becoming popular among English Royalty in the 14th century. 

Modern hockey appeared in schools in the 1800s across England, with the first organized men’s team popping up in Blackheath, South London. Hockey would later join the Olympic programme in 1908 (women’s competitions began much later in 1980). India and Pakistan have historically been particularly dominant in the Olympic men’s version of the sport and between 1928 and 1968 they were the only countries to win gold medals. Since then however the sport has flourished worldwide with Australia and Germany among others becoming stronger in the sport.

Despite being a popular sport among both men and women across Europe, field hockey is primarily a women’s sport in North America. This is possibly due to the significant popularity of the ice-based version of the game.

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Zimbabwe’s team celebrates winning the first Olympic women’s hockey gold in 1980
Wikimedia Commons