| Event: | Field hockey |
| Games: | 2012 Summer |
| Venue: | Riverbank Arena |
| Dates: | 29 July – 11 August 2012 |
| Num Events: | 2 |
| Competitors: | 15 |
| Nations: | 387 |
| Prev: | 2008 |
| Next: | 2016 |
Field hockey at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place from 29 July to 11 August at the Riverbank Arena within the Olympic Park.
On 13 November 2010 the International Hockey Federation (FIH) decided to allocate 12 teams for each men and women events respectively.[1]
Germany won the men's tournament for the fourth time, and the women's tournament was won by the Netherlands — their third Olympic women's hockey title.
| Event↓/Date → | Sun 29 | Mon 30 | Tue 31 | Wed 1 | Thu 2 | Fri 3 | Sat 4 | Sun 5 | Mon 6 | Tue 7 | Wed 8 | Thu 9 | Fri 10 | Sat 11 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | P | P | P | P | ½ | F | |||||||||
| P | P | P | P | P | ½ | F |
Each of the continental champions received a berth alongside the host, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales compete separately in most competitions, but send a combined team to the Olympics and selected friendly tournaments, which is managed by England Hockey),[2] [3] while another three spots were decided in qualifying tournaments.
For the men's tournament, Europe received two extra quota places, and Oceania one extra. While for the women's, Asia, Oceania and Europe each received one extra quota place. All were based on FIH world rankings.[1]
However, South Africa as African champion for both tournaments gave up the automatic berth on the premise that they should play a qualifier having deemed the African tournament as sub-standard even though they won the African qualifier tournament. Instead they played in the men's and women's Olympic qualification tournament and made the cut. Their automatic berth was awarded to Spain in the men's tournament and Argentina in the women's.[4] [5] [6]
| Dates | Event | Location | Quotas | Qualifier(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | 1 | (4) | |||
| 13–24 November 2010 | 2010 Asian Games | Guangzhou, China | 2 | (5) (8) | |
| 20–27 August 2011 | 2011 EuroHockey Championship | Mönchengladbach, Germany | 2 | (1) (3) | |
| 2–11 September 2011 | 2011 African Olympic Qualifier | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | 0 | — | |
| 6–9 October 2011 | 2011 Oceania Cup | Hobart, Australia | 2 | (6) (7) | |
| 14–30 October 2011 | 2011 Pan American Games | Guadalajara, Mexico | 1 | (10) | |
| 18–25 February 2012 | Olympic Qualification Tournament 1 | New Delhi, India | 1 | (12) | |
| 17–25 March 2012 | Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 | Kontich, Belgium | 1 | (16) | |
| 25 April – 5 May 2012 | Olympic Qualification Tournament 3 | Kakamigahara, Japan | 1 | (9) | |
| Invitational | 1 | (2) | |||
| Total | 12 | ||||
– South Africa won the African qualifier tournament but gave up their automatic berth on the premise that they should play a qualifier having deemed the African tournament as sub-standard. Eventually they won the Qualification Tournament 1. Instead, Argentina was invited as the highest ranked team not already qualified after the conclusion of the continental championships.[7] [8]
See main article: Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament.
See main article: Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament.