How to watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 online from anywhere: FREE live streams, TV channels, schedule

Belgium's Tom Boon celebrates during a hockey game between Belgian national team Red Lions and Spain
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams

The 16th editions of the men's and women's FIH Hockey World Cups get underway on August 15, with Belgium and the Netherlands jointly hosting the 2026 tournaments in Wavre and Amstelveen respectively.

Belgium's men's team and the Netherlands' women's team enter as the favourites, with both ranked No.1 in the world and coming off FIH Pro League triumphs. The tournament promises plenty of exciting stick-on-stick action, and we've found the best ways to watch all the matches online, including free streaming options.

Follow our guide below for where to watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams.

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Watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026

August 15 – August 30

Free streams

RTL Play & Sporza (Belgium) / NOS (Netherlands) / BBC iPlayer & Channel 4 Sport YouTube (UK)

International streams

Watch.Hockey (US, Canada, Australia)

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How to watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 for free

Hockey fans in Belgium and the Netherlands are in luck! Every game of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 is free-to-air in these countries.

RTL Play and Sporza will be showing all the games for free in Belgium, whereas NOS will do so in the Netherlands.

Viewers in the UK will also be able to watch every England, Scotland and Wales game completely free thanks to the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel.

Moreover, Wales games are also free-to-air on Welsh-language station S4C, whereas Scotland matches are available without cost on Gaelic-language channel BBC Alba Live streaming for both is available via BBC iPlayer.

If you're from one of these countries but are currently abroad and want to watch a FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live stream, you can simply use a VPN. More details below...

Watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams while traveling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you.

You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though. It's a straightforward piece of software that sets your device to appear as if it's in a different country, allowing you to watch any Hockey World Cup 2026 live stream from anywhere in the world.

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Watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams in the US

The best option for watching th FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 is Watch.Hockey. It's carrying all 100 games as part of its World Cup pass, priced at US$44.99.

Additionally, the CBS Sports Network will show all the US women's team matches. If you've cut the cord, you can get this TV channel through a Live TV streaming option, such as YouTube TV (free trial), Hulu+Live TV, Fubo, or DirecTV.

To access your usual streaming service from outside the US, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above.

Watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams in the UK

Like in the US, every single FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 match is available on Watch.Hockey in the UK.

But all the matches involving England, Scotland and Wales are free-to-air, on the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel.

Moreover, Welsh-language channel S4C and Gaelic-language station BBC Alba will also show Wales and Scotland games for free, respectively, with live streaming available via BBC iPlayer.

Outside the UK during the World Cup? Use NordVPN to watch the tournament as if you were back at home.

Watch FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 live streams in India

In India, the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 is available to watch on the Star Sports Network on TV and online on JioHotstar.

Subscriptions to JioHotstar start from just Rs. 79/month (around $0.85 USD) for mobile. You can just get an annual package for just Rs. 499 ($5.40 USD).

If you're currently out of India but want to watch a Hockey World Cup 2026 live stream, you'll need to get yourself a VPN, as per the instructions above.

FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Preview

Belgium's Tom Boon celebrates after scoring during a hockey game between Belgian national team Red Lions and Netherlands

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The men's tournament's most successful team, Pakistan, is making a comeback after failing to qualify in 2023. They’ve won the title a record four times, but not since 1994. Hosts the Netherlands are just behind Pakistan with three championships, but are yet to take gold since 1998 – something they'd like to change.

Co-hosts Belgium ended up as runners-up in 2023, losing 5-4 in the penalty shootout, but the 2018 winners will be confident of going one step further this time, thanks to their current world No.1 ranking and their recent FIH Pro League triumph. But watch out for the Dutch, who are the reigning Olympic gold medallists, and Germany, the defending world champions.

The women's tournament, on the other hand, has been dominated by co-hosts the Netherlands, winning four of the past five editions in a total of nine titles. The Dutch are the reigning Olympic champions here as well and enter the tournament as significant favourites. But with Argentina, Belgium and China all in the mix, the competition should be fierce.

The FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 introduces a new tournament format that does away with the traditional quarter-finals. In the first round, 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four (Pool A, B, C and D), playing three matches each.

The two best teams from each group will be divided into two further groups in the second round, where they'll play two more matches.

The top two teams from each of these second-round groups will progress to the semi-finals, followed by the bronze medal match and the final. The teams eliminated during the first and second rounds will play several matches to decide different 'place' winners.

FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 fixtures and dates

FIH Hockey World Cup past winners

Men's competition

  • 2023 - Germany
  • 2018 - Belgium
  • 2014 - Australia
  • 2010 - Australia
  • 2006 - Germany

Women's competition

  • 2022 - Netherlands
  • 2018 - Netherlands
  • 2014 - Netherlands
  • 2010 - Argentina
  • 2006 - Netherlands

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Krishi covers buying guides and how-to's related to software, online tools, and tech products, as well as VPN services. As a tech fanatic, Krishi also loves writing about the latest happenings in the world of cybersecurity, AI, and software.

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