Hockey: Black Sticks get Champions Trophy invite

The Black Sticks will be taking part in the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam next June. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand women's hockey team will be playing at the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam next June following a decision from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to extend the tournament from six to eight teams.

The FIH approached the Dutch as the host country of the tournament and, with their agreement, the FIH has decided to extend the Champions Trophy to include the next two ranked teams - New Zealand and China.

New Zealand played in the Champions Trophy this year at Nottingham, England. Previously, they had not competed in the Champions Trophy since 2006 and instead played in the lower-ranked Champions Challenge tournament.

"This is a fantastic opportunity and a great boost to our high performance programme as we build up to the 2012 London Olympics," New Zealand coach Mark Hager said.

"There is a real difference in the level of competition between the two tournaments and being invited to the Champions Trophy means we can play the best teams in the world for the second year running, which is great experience for the players."

The competing teams will be Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, China, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

The FIH has not confirmed the format of the men's Champions Trophy, which is to be held in India with the date yet to be confirmed.

- NZPA