FIH unveils new World Ranking system for 2020

Following 12 months of painstaking research, analysis and testing, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is delighted to reveal details of the new FIH World Ranking system that will be employed from 1 January 2020.

The outgoing FIH World Ranking system has served the sport since 2003, being originally devised to allocate teams into pools at tournaments. The old model operated well on various levels, ranking the top teams who participated in FIH and Continental events with a good level of accuracy whilst also allowing those nations to earn ranking points two to three times per year.

The new match-based World Ranking system involves an exchange of points between the two teams competing in each FIH-sanctioned match played. In short, the number of points exchanged depends on a trio of factors: the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. As well as the aforementioned increased opportunities to earn points, the new model removes much of the subjectivity surrounding continental weighting by creating a system which is fair to all, whilst also encouraging the playing of international matches.

The introduction of the new system for calculating the FIH World Rankings will not affect the current placements – each nation will start 2020 in the same ranking position and with the same number of ranking points that they finished with in 2019.

The model explained

Based on the Elo rating system, which is used as the basis of many other sports ranking systems
When two nations play against each other, a number of ranking points are exchanged between them
In every match, the number of points gained by one team is exactly matched by the number of points lost by the other
Teams will win more points for beating teams ranked above them, and therefore teams will lose more points for losing to a team ranked below them
Teams will win less points for beating teams ranked below them, and therefore teams will lose less points for losing to a team ranked above them
If a draw occurs, the lower ranked team will gain a small number of points and the higher ranked team will lose the same number of points
The number of points exchanged is dependent on the result of the match (win, lose, shootout win/loss or draw), the importance of the match (part of a major tournament, or a test series for example), and the relative difference in ranking points between the teams before the match

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