The men’s and women’s teams competing in the resurrected Hockey India League were revealed by Hockey India on Friday. The league’s governing council also declared that the next season would run from December 28, 2024, to February 5, 2025.

The Hockey India League player auction is scheduled to take place in New Delhi from October 13 to October 15, 2024.

After seven years, the league returns, and this time a women’s league will be played alongside the men’s league. The women’s league will consist of six clubs, while the men’s league will consist of eight franchises.

The international hockey governing body has authorized the league’s window, according to Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey. The president expressed optimism that the league would surpass all other leagues in terms of competition. At a press conference to unveil the league’s teams, Tirkey said, “A clear 35–40 day window will enable maximum participation from foreign players in HIL, thus making it one of the most competitive leagues in the world and also signifies the importance of HIL.”

There will be a minimum of 16 Indian players among the 24 players on each franchise’s roster. In order to provide a solid future for the next generation of hockey players, each club is required to have four junior players, with a maximum of eight international players allowed.

Three slabs will comprise the basic pricing for players: INR 10 lakh, INR 5 lakh, and INR 2 lakh. For both the men’s and women’s leagues, the auction base price is the same.

According to Hockey India, each franchise’s balanced strategy aims to develop homegrown players while simultaneously giving the league a touch of international flare.

According to the tournament regulations, the men’s squad may field up to four international players in a match, while the women’s playing XI may field up to five foreign players.

The men’s teams of the Hockey India League will compete at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha, while the women’s teams will play at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

In the men’s division, franchises from Charles Group in Chennai, Yadu Sports in Lucknow, JSW Sports in Punjab, Shawchi Sports in West Bengal, SG Sports and Entertainment in Delhi, Odisha (Vedanta Limited), Resolute Sports in Hyderabad, and Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited in Ranchi will compete; in the women’s division, teams from JSW Sports in Haryana, Shawchi Sports in West Bengal, SG Sports and Entertainment in Delhi, and Shawnami Sports in Odisha will participate.

Soon after all legal and other documentation has been completed, the women’s division will reveal its two franchises.